


It'll Cost You

by PolarGrizz47



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Blow Job, Come Shot, Cuddling, M/M, Spanking, Swearing, dancing/stripping AU, i dont even know what im doing haha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-13 18:01:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 25,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4531680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolarGrizz47/pseuds/PolarGrizz47
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhys starts dancing to make a few extra bucks. He catches Jack's eye, and despite the warnings that everyone gives him - Rhys loves the thrill of playing a very dangerous game with the CEO.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Set the Stage

**Author's Note:**

> Unedited!! Sorry for any errors... ;~;  
> Okay, so for (now) Rhys has both his arms.  
> I plan to add more characters as this thing grows.

Fiona gives him a stern look as he fumbles with the silky lace around the rear end of his costume. “Here,” She offers at last, letting out a dramatic sigh as she did so. “Let me help before you rip it and it comes out of _both_ our paychecks.”

Rhys evens his breathing and clenches his fists as he feels her slide up against him. Quick, roughened fingers grasp the thin material and easily tie it into a cute little bow. The yellow bow rests just at the base of his spine, and he turns slightly to stare at himself in the mirror.

He was donned in a thin, translucent, black lace. It clung onto his shoulders tenderly, feeling so soft and smooth. It was shaped almost like a cloak, but it looked good with his spindly shape and long legs. There were three bows holding it in place, each one yellow and vibrant.

The first one was perched at the base of his throat, and the second one was positioned just above his belly button. The final one was placed on his tailbone, giving a tantalizing peak of the showy underwear underneath.

The material gave everyone a glimpse of the ink scrawled across his side.

If this would have been his first show, Rhys would have objected to the showy clothing. But he was well adjusted to this now, and he loved it.

He absolutely _basked_ in the attention, the money, the coos and the _power_ he felt while up on that stage. Both men and women drooled over him, over his swaying hips and bendable arches. He was envied while he was up there, twisting with the music and making their heartrates increase.

Rhys wanted to learn how to work on a pole next, but for now, he was an amateur dancer. Fiona _owned_ the stage. Her presence was breathtaking, her outfit a mixture of reds and yellows. The small, sparkling silver jewels crafted onto her outfit reflected in the dim light of the stage like embers.

When she lifted her arms, the colorful lace looked like a pair of wings dripping down to the ground. The top was cut low to accent her breasts, and a firm material trailed from her top down to her belly button. The rest of it was lacey, showy and gave a glimpse of her bare, tan skin. She wore thin stockings, and a pair of red, jeweled heels.

Her show name was _The Phoenix_ , and Rhys envied her skill. Then again, he was only a newcomer who was only doing this to pay some more expensive bills. His eye wasn’t cheap, and it was still a little disorienting sometimes.

“You look good,” He noted, watching her flaunt in the mirror with a sharp grin. She lifted her arms and did a slow twirl, balancing neatly in those impossible heels and working around the large amount of lace and silk gracefully.

“Thank you. Not _too_ bad yourself.” Fiona’s grin turned into a smirk. “Glad that costume fits you.”

They normally didn’t dress up like _this_. The costumes were kept safe and prim, and Rhys was thankful to have been loaned one of her less showy ones for this event.

She perched herself on the edge of the makeup desk, spreading her legs and getting comfortable. They had time to kill before the event started. “Don’t mess this up,” Fiona said lightly, lifting a scarred brow. “This event is huge, newbie. I’m surprised they asked _you_ to perform.”

She wasn’t really. The long legged man had quickly become a hot-topic. It was rare to see a man up on the stage, and one who was attractive _and_ flexible – well, that was nearly unheard of.

Rhys looked nervous though, his first, _real_ huge turnout. This party was famed and bountiful. But it was also a deathtrap if you made the wrong move.

“Don’t worry,” She smirked, feeling the waves of anxiousness coming off him in increments. “You’ll do great. Just don’t get to much money, that’s _my_ job.” Fiona gave a shark toothed grin and a wink while Rhys rolled his eyes.

“Hey, I can’t help it if they like the _new_ goods.” Rhys spouts off easily, tapping his bare toes against the clean tile backstage.

She sticks her tongue out at him for a moment, and he mirrors the action.

He felt relaxed around her. She had her mean streaks, and he’d been smeared more than once, but Fiona was somebody he could just fall into step with. Almost like Vaughn – expect not really, because he couldn’t imagine stripping and dancing next to that little hunk of muscle.

-:-

Jack kicks his feet up on the desk and tries to decide whether he even wants to attend the blowout. It was another year of him being the CEO – and this was the day that he took the throne. All the employees liked to stay on his good side by throwing him a large anniversary party.

It gave them a sense of comfort, even if Jack knew he could shuttle them out into space in a push of the button. Speaking of which…

The man turned in his chair somewhat to watch as his assistant floated by in a mess of guts and stricken limbs. Smirking, he tugs on the edge of his mask, balancing his chin in his hand.

He needed a new personal assistant now. One that wouldn’t try to steal company secrets. Somebody interesting and fun to _play_ with.

Dual eyes settled onto the monitor and he scrolled over the message boredly.

The only thing that really caught his attention was the promise of dancers – and a special presentation done by _The Phoenix_ herself.

Jack had seen her preform before, but it had been awhile. She was always a pleasure, a deadly temptress on the stage that could gut you with a flick of her wrist. She’d grown up on Pandora and regularly stayed down on the savage planet.

Her inner struggle showed through in her dance, drawing out raw emotions in the audience when set to the right music.

Jack absently rubbed at his thighs at the thought, a grin curling onto his features as he scrolled down further. There was a note about another, newbie dancer.

The CEO gave a low hum of curiosity, trying to remember anything useful about the new kid. He’d heard talk of a sweet little thing that was surprisingly skilled for being so green. Gossip traveled fast on Helios and he always heard the choked of whispers of conversation as he strode down the corridors.

His hand moved closer to his dick and he palmed himself with a low chuckle.

He owed it to himself to at least see the kid in action, right?


	2. Ballsy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys gets a little too ballsy off stage...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited, again. I'm the laziest person lmao.  
> Sorry for any errors you'll be seeing.

Jack waits until the end of the party to finally show up, figuring it was more nerve-wracking if he showed up late. He had to keep them on their toes. Make them think they hadn’t thrown a _big enough_ party to fit his egotistical needs.

At this point, several people where stumbling around, drunk out their minds and muttering loudly to themselves and all their friends as they cackled in a bubbly way. The lights were always dim at these parties, and Jack felt a sadistic glee from kicking open the large door, uncaring if it hit anyone. The bright lights from the hallway illuminated him for a moment as he crossed his arms and took in all the cowering people.

He felt his grin spread even wider as they parted to make way for him. He made a beeline towards the stage, dual colored eyes watching the two dancers. They were momentarily frozen in place, their movements stilled and eyes focused on his approaching form.

-:-

Rhys felt his heart leap into his throat, eyes wide and fearful as he watched the imposing man loom closer. Fiona was the first to recover, her voice low and gentle as she traced her fingertips over his arm. “Come on. Don’t mind him.” She cooed, “He pays great, so move your ass.”

The man snapped into action once she gave him a firm slap on the ass, and the crowd gave a few whispers and whistles of approval. She did it once more just for good measure and Rhys arched his back into it, milking the noises from the crowd.

Money littered the stage, but Fiona wasn’t bothered as she marched up towards her pole, heels clacking and hips swaying. She wrapped one leg around the warm metal and bent herself backwards, short hair a mess and fingertips easing across the floor.

It looked great with her extra flare, the costume trailing behind her movements only to be brought up in a seamless arch of reds and yellows as she pulled herself towards the pole and followed the beat of the music.

Rhys moved slower, warming himself up again even though he could feel his heart hammering inside his throat. Jack chose to seat himself in one the plush, dark couches closest to the stage, watching him expectantly.

The man tried to ignore the target painted on his back as Jack stared, the flush spreading up his neck and onto his cheeks. He felt almost giddy – Jack – _The Handsome Jack_ – was staring at them like a wolf before a feeding.

The tune bleeds into something more rhythmic, the deep sounds beating in time with his heart as he calmed down and focused. He could do this. He could _do this_.

It starts in his shoulders first, the sway. He lifts his hands above his head and arches his back, feeling the material of his costume glide over his body. Then his hips, his whole body caught in a sensual writhe.

It feels…right. _Rewarding_.

He got drunk off it. It made him feel greater than any alcoholic drink could. The music thrummed in his veins and Jack’s gaze made him feel light and sweet.

Rhys slowly reached down to grab his ankles, ass facing the crowd as the beat grew louder, heavier. As he gave an enthusiastic shake, the crowd gave a drunken roar of approval and Fiona grinned to herself.

He was getting the hang of it now.

Looking down from between his spread legs, Rhys moved his arms so his hands cupped his ass, slowly rubbing a trail down to his thighs. He _saw_ Jack sit forward, if only a little bit.

Smirking, he gave the terrifying man a _wink_ and only felt himself grow even bolder as Jack grinned.

-:-

Rhys got ballsy. Maybe a _little_ too ballsy.

They didn’t go offstage until the end, when all the higher-ups were drunk off their ass and full of cash that just needed a little coaxing. Fiona exited the stage with all her grace and finesse, moving towards a group of men towards her end of the stage. She leaned over them and placed her heels dangerously close to their thighs as she cooed and pressed her hands to their messily undone suits.

The money came _easy_ ; they were hypnotized by her movements and her honeyed voice.

Rhys took his sweet time getting over to Jack, spending a good few minutes with the men and women on his end of the stage. He didn’t let them touch, those were _the rules_ , but he could touch them all he wanted. It was natural, he leaned them back into the couches and sweetly stroked over their features as he almost settled into their lap.

It made them needy, thirsting for his touch, his approval.

Money was slipped into his underwear, their touches lingering as he purposefully made his breathing hot and heavy.

He could _feel_ Jack watching the entire time. The CEO’s attention divided. He was waiting to see who would get to him first.

 _The Phoenix_ made eye contact with Rhys from across the room, and gently tipped her head towards Jack. She knew it was a foolish idea, but she wanted to see how Rhys would react. The first time she’d gotten that close to Jack, she felt like she’d be sick.

Athena lifted her head to watch carefully as Rhys approached Jack. The silent footfalls of his bare feet tracked by all those in the room, the tension growing. She uncrossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. She had agreed to be Fiona’s body guard for this event, and she’d kick anyone’s ass who got a little too handsy with the dancers.

She couldn’t help but to feel disgusted by the whole thing. She wanted to kill Jack where he sat, like a fat happy cat getting its milk. But she was getting a boatload of cash from this, and Janey needed the rent money.

Jack leaned back smugly as Rhys finally reached him, standing in front of Hyperion’s leader with his heart in his throat.

“Well, get on with it, cupcake. I’m not paying you to stand there and look pretty.” Jack said coolly, an eyebrow rose in waiting.

Rhys felt an immense, unsquishable sense of pride flood him at the man’s words. He’d show him _why_ Jack was going to pay him.

The man braced his hands on either side of Jack’s head, much to the surprise of the elder man. Rhys sways his ass from side to side, grinning down at Jack like he had all the power here.

Fiona watched with baited breath as Rhys slid a hand down onto Jack’s shoulder, using it as leverage as he gracefully glided into the man’s lap, knees spread open wide on the couch and ass nestled in nicely against the CEO’s thighs.

Jack doesn’t react, not as first. Merely watches him and allows Rhys to touch his shoulder as he slowly starts to grind down into Jack’s lap.

He had to admit, it felt _great_. Watching their bodies twist on the stage had made his dick twitch readily. The way they bent and cooed should be _illegal_.

Rhys uses his other hand and trails it over his chest, lifting the material of his costume to show off the pale, unmarked skin there. Jack thinks it’s such a shame. No markings, no bite marks, no claw marks, no scars.

 _Nothing_.

The kid’s body begged to be used.

Jack lets himself relax at last, tipping his head back and watching as Rhys moved atop him. _Boy_ , Jack thought, _he sure looks like he’s enjoying himself_.

He slips his hand into his pocket, pulling out a few messily crumpled bills there. Rhys doesn’t react, merely arches and throws his head back, exposing a tattooed throat.

Jack stares at the dark ink there, memorizing it within a few seconds as his hand drifts towards the kid’s lower body. “That’s it, kitten,” He says lowly, a grin plastered onto his face as he watches how Rhys’ mouth falls open just so at the nickname.

Rhys lifts the thin material higher, exposing the ink on his clavicle. It differed greatly from the markings on his throat. The ink was a dark blue, and it gradually faded into a lighter tone the further it crawled down his arm.

It took Jack a few seconds to focus in on it. Those _familiar_ markings trailing up and down Rhys’ skin in a blue, permanent feature. The hand full of money stopped, and the bills fell between their bodies as he reached up and tried to grab at Rhys’ arm.

The younger man suddenly grabbed onto his wrist, the spell broken.

Athena steps forward, her hand disappearing into her armor for a moment. Fiona shakes her head sternly as everyone freezes in shock. The hushed tone was only offset by the still beating music.

Jack looked like he’d been smacked in the face. His hand lax in Rhys’ grip and surprise glinting in his mismatched gaze. Rhys stares at him blankly, their breathing hard.

He almost wants to stab the kid to death right there. Who _the hell_ was he to defy him?

A few tense seconds pass, the blood pumping in his body and pounding in his ears. Rhys swallowed and slowly started to grind once more, moving Jack’s hand down to his hip instead carefully, praying to any god out there that the man wouldn’t shove a weapon into his vulnerable side.

 _Well played, kitten_.

The anger still buzzes in the back of his mind, but Jack enjoys himself again after some coaxing and sweet coos from the younger man atop him. His fingers dig painfully into the man’s hip, holding him close and reminding him just who he was playing with here.

-:-

That evening, Athena nearly rips his spine out. “What the _hell_ where you thinking?” She hisses at him, boxing Rhys into a corner. “He could’ve killed you right there.”

“I know, I know, okay?” Rhys pleads, lifting his hands with his eyes widening. “I just – I don’t know, I thought people weren’t allowed to touch me?”

“People aren’t.” Fiona agrees, her bare feet pacing now. “But that was _Handsome Jack_.”

“I know.” Rhys repeats, almost sounded dumbfounded.

That was _Handsome Jack_.

Holy shit.

He just gave Handsome Jack a teasing lap dance and almost got killed.

But hey, he made a killing doing so.

-:-

Jack pops the top off another beer, lifting the chilled beverage to his lips as he thinks over the events of the night.

That brat had some guts, he’d give him that.

It took a lot of balls too. Not just anyone got away with laying their hands _on him_. He didn’t like it when he didn’t get to have his way.

Taking a swig, Jack runs his fingers across the scar on his cheek absently. He’d taken the mask off as soon as he got into his impressive lounge and had stared up at the stars through his one good eye.

The tattoos keep popping up in his mind, and Jack clenches his hands into a fist around the bottle. He could’ve sworn he saw them around somewhere…

As he leans back in the couch and starts to doze off, he’s startled back into awareness by the memory of dual colored eyes staring at him. The kid’s face is framed in his memory, mouth slightly agape and eyes half lidded.

One a deep amber, the other an electronic blue.

Jumping to his feet, he stalks over to his personal computer. He _knew_ that face, he could feel it.

That kid wasn’t an off-world newbie.

As he pulled up employee files, Jack narrowed his search down to ones who had cybernetic work done within the last five years. He narrows that search down to strictly eyes.

He punches the keyboard with his fingertips, pounding away as he searches through all the records. Why the hell did they have _so much goddamed paper work_?

It was nearly 0100 when he finally found him.

The lithe man all made of tall legs smiles at him from the screen. The employee was just a grunt working between divisions. He had the cybernetic work done to replace a blind eye, one that was a natural birth defect. Added in the echo and the port because he was _apparently_ feeling like hot shit.

It was mostly paid for thanks to a bonus he’d received after a tricky deal well done.

 _That’s_ how he recognized him.

He’d been bumped by a shaking man, who quickly explained something about a surgery before offering his greatest condolences and scrambling off like his life depended on it. And it probably had.

Jack had the entirely not-so-useless ability to remember the most _unextraordinary_ events.

A sharp grin pulled at his lips and moved the scar across his face.

“Got you, kitten.” He purrs, stroking the screen with his thumb. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How the fuck do you write sexy dances? I don't know.  
> I hope it was decent enough.
> 
> Love to hear feedback! :3


	3. Start the Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited.  
> Uh...not a lot happens in this chapter, honestly.  
> Just wanted to write and here we are lmao.

Athena offers to walk him back down to his room with Vaughn, and Rhys merely laughs it off. “Come on – it’s not like he’s going to kill me or anything. I mean, at least not _right now._ ”

She gives him a dark glare from under the shade of her hood. “That’s not funny.”

Fiona nods in agreement as she starts to fold up her costume, tying together the lacy wings and then pinning them to the back. Next she moves onto Rhys’ costume, folding the lace up and using the large bows to tie it into a small little package.

The man sits with them on the edge of the stage, wearing shorts and an old Hyperion sweater. There he counts the money he’d earned fair and square and they had agreed to split the bills that had landed on the stage.

“I could stash you away at my place. Sasha would be _thrilled_.” Fiona and Athena share a smirk for a moment at the mere thought. Rhys pauses with his counting to raise a brow at them curiously.

“No thanks.” Rhys mutters carefully, “I’m sure everything’s fine… mostly.” Shrugging one shoulder, the man quickly lays out all the bills he’d earned and then places them aside with a happy nod.

Fiona soon settles in next to him and starts to organize her pile of money next, placing the bills in order of worth. They don’t say anything for a long while, and Rhys spends the silence trying to organize where he wants the money to go.

Most of it would go towards his medical payments. Then, the rest he could divvy out for lunch money and rent. If he _did_ happen to get jettisoned into space, he’d be sure to leave the money to Vaughn – at least then the man could rabbit hole it away.

For a financing guy, his roommate sure had a funny way of hiding money.

Finally, when the memories of the events start to sink in and Rhys feels the first few drops of anxiety falling into his mind, he starts to pick back up the conversation. “So… you don’t actually think he’s going to uh – _kill me_ , do you?”

Athena looks up from where she was tracing the edge of her shield and frowns. “The guy’s a murderer.” She says coldly, making Rhys blanch a little.

“Or he might just _forget_ about you.” Fiona stresses, shooting the other woman a withering glare. “He’s pretty busy killing everyone on Pandora that stands in his way.”

Rhys doesn’t feel any better and instead leans back on the stage to stare at the lights. He knew all the stories that surrounded Jack – he’d gone snooping, but he wondered how many were _true_. He knew the masked man was somebody to be feared, but had he really killed all those people in his mining?

He knew that gossip spread fast and Hyperion was a tank full of blood thirsty sharks trying to get a leg up on one another. Lies became truth and the innocent were dragged in the chaos.

Sure, he _almost_ threw up when Jack glared at him and squeezed his hip, but he felt _good_ when the man finally relaxed and called him such sweet nicknames.

As he stares out in space, Fiona finishes up her counting and boredly rests her chin on her palm. “Do you want to learn something new?”

“Huh?” Rhys blinks, his eye lighting up for a moment as he focuses on her.

Fiona jerks a thumb towards the pole behind her and blows the colorful streak of hair away from her face. “Didn’t you say you wanted to work the pole?”

The man flushes a little and nods, and she lunges forwards to grab him to the wrist and pull him to his feet. Athena tries to ignore her worry as she crosses her arms and watches while Fiona starts giving the poor guy a crash course.

-:-

Athena almost kills the janitor as he slipped backstage, and his startled cry was the only thing that roused Rhys from the depths of his slumber. His head shot up from where it was pillowed on Fiona’s shoulder, and he narrows his eyes sleepily at the image of Athena shaking the man by the collar.

“Don’t kill ‘em,” Fiona slurred, burying her face into the crook of her arm. “Just toss him out… mhm,” She yawns and stretches out, pausing to grumble in irritation at a wet spot on her tank top. “Oh – ew. What is _that_?”

Rhys flushes even in his half-awake state and rolls away from her. “Sorry. That was me.” He settles onto his knees and rubs at his eyes, trying to figure out where he was.

They were both on the floor by the makeup desk, and he gives a confused grunt as he stretches his sore limbs. He didn’t remember falling asleep like this – and he certainly didn’t remember snuggling up to Fiona.

Athena pushes him out of the stage area and watches as the janitor scrambles. “Morning, sunshine.” She huffs, walking over towards them both to help them to their feet. “How’d you sleep?”

Rhys is pulled up by the collar of his sweater and he only protests by giving a sleepy groan. Fiona stretches her arms above her head to pop her back before smacking her lips together. Athena watches them both while shaking her head somewhat. It was like dealing with grumbling little kids.

With a blink, the man pulls up his echonet to check the time, the numbers fading into the field of view in his left eye. It was early, nearing 0600. He had to be at work by 0800.

The numbers soon vanish and he pulls down his shorts into a more comfortable position. “Crap – I gotta get going.”

“You think you’re in trouble?” Athena smirks and nods towards Fiona. “She forgot to call Sasha. Her sister probably thinks she got killed up here.”

Fiona mopes for a moment as she collects her costumes. “Psh – she _knows_ I can handle myself.”

“And that’s why I’m here.” Athena grins at the faux wounded expression the dancer dons before pointing to the side of the makeup desk. “I put your money there after you two passed out by the pole.”

Rhys hurries over to the money before tugging his bag out of the drawer. From there he tosses on some jeans and hops into his boots – knowing that he didn’t want people seeing him prancing around in sleep shorts as he ran back home. He pushes the money into the duffle before zipping it closed.

“Good luck with the sister thing,” He adds as he tries to push his hair back into a somewhat tamable mess. Fiona merely shots him a confidant grin before waving while he makes a beeline out the back doors.

Before he gets too far, Athena grabs him by the sweater, yanking him back. He chokes a little just for dramatic effect before spinning on his heel to face her. The woman releases him and thins her lips. “If you get into trouble… We’ll be up here for a few more days.”

He blinks at her before it clicks into place again.

Oh, right _. Handsome Jack_.

“Thanks.” He says stiffly, “I have Fiona’s echo code.”

Athena nods and watches while he hurries down the hall.

“He’ll be fine.” Fiona coaxes as she pulls on her own clothes. “Besides, _I’m_ the one who has to deal with Sash.”

-:-

Jack sighs happily as the hot water pelts at his chest, taking the time to enjoy the high water pressure as he goes over his plans for the day. He had to check in with his scouts down on Pandora, and threaten the scientists about something – he didn’t care what. Sometimes he wanted to break their necks one by one until they started producing something actually _useful_.

He turns his back towards the shower head and absently wraps his hand around his dick. He gave a low hum before squeezing the base, trying to put himself back on that couch with the kid atop him.

 _Oh, yes_. He thinks, _This is going to be fun_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? A whole lot of nothin'.  
> At least Jack kinda touched his dick. *shrugs*
> 
> I love drooly Rhys. :3
> 
> Next, more eventful chapter coming soon.


	4. A Win-Win

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited again.  
> Wow, I'm writing a lot of this right now lol.

Vaughn is on his exercise bike when Rhys bursts into the room. He’d made it – safely to his apartment. Athena had made him suspicious, and he couldn’t help but to glance over his shoulder whenever he passed somebody in the hall or heard a garbage can beep at him.

The smaller man looks over the rim of his glasses and squints his eyes before smiling. “Rhys! Where were you last night? You missed this _awesome_ documentary about Skrags, bro.”

Rhys huffs in a breath and tries to smile at his friend before shrugging his shoulder. “I was – uh – around.” He hadn’t _quite_ told him that he started dancing on the side.

“Around.” Vaughn repeats suspiciously before Rhys darts to their bathroom. He sighs and shakes his head before pedaling again.

-:-

Fiona finally ends her chat with Sasha, trying to lick her wounds as best able. She and Athena were staying in one of the guest rooms on Helios, and it wasn’t so bad. The fridge was stocked and the shower was much needed after a night of rubbing money and snobby employees.

Athena kicked her feet up on the coffee table as she settled into the couch, ready to call Janey just to check in. She couldn’t help but to worry though, knowing that look in Jack’s eyes a little too well.

The way he looked at Rhys like a _meal_. The poor man had the unfortunate luck of catching his attention.

She’d seen what happened to towns on Pandora when they caught Jack’s _attention_.

As the connection flickered to life and her lover popped up on the green, translucent screen, Athena tried to push those thoughts aside.

-:-

The shower steadies him. Rhys inhales the warm steam and lets the shower massage his back. He was sore from dancing and sleeping on the floor.

He takes a long, relaxing shower to wash away the thoughts and the memories from last night. As he squeezes some soap onto his wash cloth and scrubs at his body, he bites back a surprised gasp when he suddenly rubs at a tender spot on his hip.

Dual eyes glance down and gawk at the sight of a large, purple mark on the skin right above the bone there.

When did _that_ happen?

He pokes at it carefully, pressing his index finger along the mark and narrowing his eyes. He hadn’t bumped into the stage, had he? He didn’t think he got it from the crash course in pole dancing, although his arms did ache from the strain he’d placed on them doing so.

It takes him a moment to go through his evening, and his breath catches slightly.

Jack had done that, after he forced his hand down to his hip instead.

Athena was right. He was so fucking dead.

-:-

Jack’s mood gets sour when he realizes his coffee cup hadn’t been filled for him yet. He almost yells out at his pa, ready to rip them a new one, when he realizes that he’d killed the guy yesterday for snooping on his computer.

Pouting, he drags himself out of the large leather chair and stalks across his office to punch in a code against the wall. The wall parts and out folds a coffee maker, the pot empty and dirty. Jack growls at the sight and contemplates smashing it into a thousand tiny pieces under his sneakers.

Luckily, his computer bings with a new incoming call and the pot is spared from his rage.

The scouts however weren’t as lucky.

-:-

Rhys is busy running around papers for his boss, who apparently is too good to get their ass out of the plush chair. He pauses when he makes a delivery to the finances division, hurrying over to Vaughn’s little cubical.

His friend brightens considerably when he sees him and they take a short break while complaining about their bosses. Vaughn lets him steal a sip or two from his coffee and Rhys stretches his long legs out as he leans against the wall. Listening to his friend’s steady drawl about how jumbled Hyperion’s budget has gotten made a tiny smile pull at his lips.

-:-

Jack huffs and puffs, feeling like he could spit fire after ending the call with his terrified scouts. A whole lot of _useless_ , unimportant news. He needed something he could make money off of, and something he could use to turn Pandora into the perfect little paradise.

He narrows his eyes as he sees a new email from his secretary, and punches at the keys to open it up. A brief bout of confusion makes him grumble unhappily as he scans over it. It was just an employee record.

He was about to call her up and snarl at her until he reached the end of the message and saw the attached pictures.

The kid was still grinning at him goofily from the screen and Jack feels his mood lift significantly.

That’s right, _Rhys_. His little dancing brat who looked like lots of _fun_.

Jack could only imagine the stuff he could make the kid do with a body like that. He smiles and leans back in the chair while licking at his lips. He needed somebody who was going to be enjoyable, _and_ he needed a new assistant.

It seemed like a win-win.

It was _so_ much better than a quick fuck.

Reaching over, he presses a button besides his computer and calls out, “Get me on the line with this kid’s boss.”

It takes a few seconds for his secretary to respond, “Yes, sir,” They say evenly, “Patching you through now.”

Jack swings his legs up on the desk and takes pleasure in snatching Rhys away from someone who doesn’t know the kid’s worth.

-:-

After putting the fear of god into the stuttering man, who was surprised that Jack even wanted Rhys and had the audacity to try and suggest _someone else,_ Jack strolled out of his office with a hop in his step.

He was going to kill that guy later, but for now he wanted to go surprise his little kitten.

-:-

Rhys shakes his head with a giddy laugh bubbling through his lips. Vaughn grins from ear to ear – he _knew_ that joke was hilarious.

Yvette was just being a stick in the mud.

Neither of them notices the CEO’s silent approach, and Jack has the pleasure of draping an arm over the walls of the cubical and boxing them into the small space. “And here I thought I told you that I wasn’t paying you to stand there and look pretty, cupcake.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly more eventful??  
> :'0
> 
> Hope you like.


	5. Tight Spaces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, another one so soon?   
> I find that I'm really having fun writing this, and I hope you're enjoying the read. :)  
> Unedited.

Vaughn chokes into his coffee mug and Rhys freezes up like a deer in the headlights. Jack’s grin is sharp and deadly, and he crosses his arms in front of the only door out of the little cubical.

He had them trapped, and although he’d rather have Rhys alone, he could deal with the little man’s presence.

Rhys’ eye flickers as he stares at Jack in dismay, before the color rises in his cheeks and his heartrate picks up.

Jack was going to kill him, right here, in front of Vaughn. He was sure of it.

He’d pissed him off by stopping him from touching, and now he was going to be choked to death in a little cubical in front of his friend.

-:-

Jack thinks Rhys’ wide eyed look and opening terrified stance is absolutely fucking _adorable_. He loves it when people tense up, when their breath catches in their throat and their mind halts everything just to focus on _him_.

“Well, just don’t stand there. C’mon,” He wags a finger at Rhys and takes a step out of the cubical, ready to see if the kid was going to bolt.

To his enjoyment, the long legged man merely takes a mechanical step forward. Spurred on only by fear and confusion. “That’s it,” Jack coaxes, reaching out to grab at Rhys’ long tie. “Right on this way, pumpkin.”

As he tugs, Rhys follows him out of the cubical and into the tiny hallway. Vaughn is backed up against the far wall, his coffee mug held in a white-knuckle grip and eyes wide behind the thick frames. He can’t believe what he’s seeing.

Handsome Jack leading Rhys away.

“Good, kitten.” Jack purrs, releasing the tie. “Now follow me, I have a little job opportunity with your name written all over it, sweetheart.”

Rhys dumbly nods and follows the CEO like a lamb to the slaughter.

When they’re far enough away, Vaughn collapses into the firm chair in front of his computer and stares at the wall with his mouth slightly agape.

It occurs to him that this could be the last time he’ll see Rhys ever again.

-:-

Rhys follows behind Jack with a fearful confusion written on his face. As they pass cubicles, people seem to be giving him their final goodbyes. But Jack looks like he couldn’t be happier, he has a little jump to his step and his sneakers are soundless against the tiled floor.

They walk in silence for what feels like an eternity before Jack taps open an elevator towards the end of the sector. He enters the tiny box without any fuss, and spins on his heel to flash Rhys a shark-like grin. “Don’t stand there all day, kitten.”

His tone betrays his cheerful body language, and Rhys lurches inside the elevator with his heart in his throat. As he turns to face the floor and spots Vaughn peeking out of his cubical. Their eyes meet and Rhys tries to give his best _‘I’m sure it’s nothing’_ face before the elevator doors slide close.

-:-

Jack can _taste_ the fear coming from the young man. It’s filling up the tight space quickly and Jack can feel the kid getting wound up from his silence. He continues to wait there, knowing that sometimes his looming presence is more terrifying. _The impending doom_ , he’d heard it explained to him before he’d airlocked somebody.

The elevator moves them upwards, to the very top of Helios. Rhys gives an audible swallow, and Jack hears his throat click tightly with the movement. The airlocks where at the very top.

Finally, when Rhys can’t take it anymore, he cracks a very tiny, very hesitant, “Sir?”

And that’s all Jack needs.

He whirls upon Rhys like a rabid dog on a fresh piece of meat, slamming the young man back into the wall and punching his hand close to the man’s head. Rhys stares at him with impossibly wide eyes, his whole body trembling and breathing halted.

Jack just smiles at him, all pleasant despite the cruel actions. “Hi, kitten~” He purrs, using his other hand to force Rhys’ jaw up so their eyes meet.

The man had sank down a few inches in the heat of the moment, his knees weak despite the fact that he had Jack beat in height by at least two inches.

“Remember me, sweetie?” Jack continues, stroking Rhys’ cheek with his thumb. The kid’s skin is _so_ smooth and soft, still pale and waiting for markings. “Of course you do,” He continues when Rhys’ stares at him, at a loss for words.

Jack wets his bottom lip and Rhys flushes at the action.

The man’s grin never wavers as his hand sinks down to Rhys’ hip and presses down there again; mimicking the action he’d done last night. He squeezes harder and Rhys finally flinches as it irritates the bruise. “Mhm… hurts, doesn’t it? _Good_.”

The hand by Rhys’ head unclenches and starts to play with the ends of his hair. Rhys finds himself relaxing before Jack takes a step closer, making them rest chest to chest.

He doesn’t know what Jack wants from him, but he’s pretty sure the man can hear his heartbeat thudding out of his chest. Rhys keeps his hands carefully flat against the surface of the elevator wall, his palms sweating and sliding against the metallic surface.

“Look at you, so confused.” Jack hushes to him, taking his hand away from the younger man’s hip in favor of trailing it up his chest. He brushes the top button of Rhys’ collar and slowly presses his thumb against the kid’s windpipe.

Rhys’ breathing catches, and he lets out a little, petrified gasp.

Jack’s grin only widens as he applies the softest amount of pressure.

Rhys’ mouth pops open silently and Jack can’t help but to stare at his features. The tops of Rhys’ perfect teeth peeking from behind his lips and his dual colored eyes wide and terrified. “Yeah… yeah, this is going to be _so much fun_ , kiddo.” Jack breaths before dropping his hands and taking a step back.

Rhys stays pressed up against the elevator while watching Jack like a trapped bird in the cat’s playpen. Neither of them says anything until the elevator finally comes to a stop, the doors staying sealed until Jack flicks open a small screen and holds his thumb to it.

Rhys watches while the scan runs and gives a beep of approval. The doors open into a wide, large room. Jack cheerfully strolls into the room and turns to wave Rhys in. “Come on in, kitten. I gotta little… _proposition_ for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOW we're getting somewhere, right? ;3
> 
> Love reading everyone's comments. Hope I'm keeping you guys interested as I learn how to write the cast. :>


	6. Coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, still unedited.   
> I'm in LOVE with the idea of Rhys becoming Jacks PA - like hell yeah. Sign me the hell up.  
> My spin on this is going to gradually get a tad darker though. *shrugs*  
> Dark!Rhys 100% all the way.

The room is nearly empty. Towards the end, near the large, clear window full of stars, sits a huge, imposing desk. The equally impressive monitor sits quietly atop the polished, wooden service. Jack’s chair looked big enough to hold two of him, and when he sprawled out in it and spread his legs wide, Rhys could tell why he’d ordered such an impressive seat.

It was a power tactic. A show of status.

And the leather seat looked pretty comfortable, too.

Much more comfortable than the two chairs placed across the desk.

There are two little keypads on the walls. One close to the desk and the other towards the elevator. There was a short hallway that branched off from the wall with the elevator bank. It lead towards two large rooms, one a fully stocked bathroom and the other a small lounge area.

Rhys listened as Jack ranted on about where everything was and what to do with everything. He could use the bathroom whenever, and he was only allowed to go into the lounge with permission. The keypad by the desk opened up into a coffee pot and a small sink. The one by the elevators was only to be opened in case of emergencies, and stocked plenty of first-aid.

The lithe man stands in front of the desk with his hands folded behind his back nervously, watching as Jack grins at him like a wolf. “Got everything, kiddo?” He asks while pulling a small, wireless keyboard closer to him.

“Y-Yes, Sir. I do… but,” Rhys pauses when Jack’s eyebrows twitch into a glare, “I don’t _exactly_ understand what you want me to do.”

Jack heaves a dramatic sigh and moves to his feet slowly, rounding the desk to lean against it, toe to toe with Rhys now. “Firstly, kitten – I’m sick of ‘ _sir this and sir that_ ’. Let’s get personal, shall we?” He leans forwards and orders, “Call me Jack, otherwise you’ll lick my boot.”

Rhys nods shakily. “Okay – Jack.”

He’s almost thrilled. Handsome Jack is asking _him_ – a lowly errand boy – to call him _by name_.

“Wonderful.” Jack braces his hands on the edge of the desk and crosses his ankles together. “Kitten, I’m not going to lie to you. I think you’re a cute little brat with some potential, and since I .... _got rid of_ my last assistant, I figured I’d find a replacement. That’s where you come in.”

Rhys stares at him blankly and Jack sighs again.

“Alright, kiddo, let me make this _very easy_ for you. I want _you_ to be _my_ assistant. Help me with all the mundane paperwork and keep the other’s all cowering.” Jack smirks and drags his gaze up and down Rhys’ body. “Bring me coffee and keep me happy. You know… assist me in _some things_.” His palm glides down to his dick and he gives himself a squeeze through his jeans.

Rhys’ eyes grow even wider as it all clicks.

“Oh… _oh_ – ” His face flushes and he’s dumbfounded. Handsome Jack wanted help with paperwork and… his dick.

“Yup. Pretty freaking simple if I do say so myself.” Jack drops his hand back to his side and nods towards the keypad closest to them. “Let’s give this a little test, cupcake. Make me a coffee. Drown it in sugar, no cream.”

Rhys doesn’t hesitate, he moves towards the keypad before pausing, his fingers hesitating over their worn keys.

“Code is 0030, sweet-cheeks.” Jack purrs, watching the kid closely.

With trembling fingertips, Rhys presses down each key and watches while the wall gives a slight hiss before the compartment unfolds along the seams. The coffee pot is bolted down and the sink is built to resist drips when it’s upside down for long bouts of time.

He finds the coffee pot empty and moves to clean it out by the sink, well-adjusted to the action thanks to Vaughn’s older coffee machine in their apartment. Wordlessly, he cleans it out and then fills it up, dumping the pot into the top and pausing to find the coffee grinds.

“By your knees, kitten.” Jack guides casually, enjoying the kid’s confusion.

Rhys gives a low hum and crouches slightly to face the mini drawer. He pulls it out slowly and finds only black coffee in fancy golden packaging. Standing back up, he opens up one of the packages and finds a little scooper already inside.

“Two large scoops. I like mine strong.” The voice behind him is full of amusement, and Rhys feels his face heating up as he follows the directions. He sets the machine to brew before putting everything away. “Very good, kitten. Now come here while that works, let me get a good look at you.”

Rhys resists the urge to toy with his tie as he comes to stand in front of Jack. The older man reaches out and casually tugs his tie out of the folds of his slacks. He reaches up towards Rhys’ throat and gently unties it, ignoring the way the man’s breath halts nervously.

“There you go,” He coos sweetly, setting the red material on his desk. From there, he unbuttons two of the top collars by Rhys’ throat, and proceeds to pull the collar open more. “Much better.” Jack leans back to regard Rhys with a tilt of the head before he hums unhappily, and reaches out to touch the thick vest. “This isn’t working for me. Take it off. _Now_.”

Rhys scrambles to do so, tugging the material off of one shoulder before sliding it off his arm. Jack snatches it up and tosses it on the desk along with his tie.

“Perfect.” He sighs happily, “I want you to look like _this_ – every morning for me. New dress code.”

Rhys stands there and nods along in agreement. He felt more exposed somehow, and tried to ignore the way Jack was staring at his neck like it was a nice little treat. He flinches when Jack reaches up and presses his thumb against the dark, circular ink on his throat.

“Careful, kitten. You’ll _know_ when I’m going to bite.” Jack says sternly, his eyes focused on the ink exposed better thanks to the wardrobe change.

They stand there for a long while, and Rhys feels his face steadily growing darker as he stares at Jack in surprise. The man looks mesmerized by the simple design. He almost wants to ask _why_ it’s gotten his complete attention, but then there’s a low, annoying beep.

The coffee was ready.

Jack releases him without a word and Rhys automatically hurries over to the coffee machine. The CEO rounds his desk and plops down into his chair before tapping away at the keyboard, the sound strangely soothing as Rhys starts to dump the sugar in first. Then the coffee. He has trouble finding a stirring stick until he remembers the drawer and pulls it out.

By the time he brings the coffee over to Jack, the man is deep into reading emails. He casually sets it by his arm, noting the coaster placed there.

Not knowing what else to do, he stands by the desks and waits.

He doesn’t have to wait long. After a particularly nasty growl rumbles from Jack’s throat, scaring Rhys stiff, Jack habitually reaches for the cup and brings it to his lips. Rhys’ heart is beating faster, hoping that he got it right, still unsure about the whole PA thing and yet thirsty for his idol’s approval.

Jack takes a large sip and swallows. The long pause of silence feels like an eternity to Rhys.

Finally, Jack sets the cup aside and starts tapping again.

“Well done, kitten.” He says at last, watching from the corner of his eye as Rhys gives a thankful smile and bashfully bows his head.

 _Kid’s sweeter than my coffee_ , he thinks _, can’t wait to make him rotten._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby's first cup of coffee for Jack! Aweee.  
> (´◠ω◠`)  
> Just wait 'till baby's first blow job.
> 
> And I made Jack's chair huge and comfy for... reasons. ;3
> 
> Feedback very appreciated. *nervous wheezing*


	7. Agreeing (Probably Not Selling Your Soul to the Devil)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited. Kind of a filler chapter not going to lie.

Jack keeps him there most of the day, and Rhys slowly finds himself learning what the man wanted him to do. He was given tasks like sorting the paperwork into neat, organized piles. Jack’s desk goes from a warzone to a cleaner, simpler design.

The papers tempt him with all sorts of valuable information, but Jack doesn’t seem to care that he’s handling sensitive documents. It’s a sort of lingering trust that makes Rhys ignore the words and refuse to scan them.

He doesn’t want to let Jack down so early on.

By the time Jack sends him off, it’s well past his normal day. Rhys is exhausted, more so thanks to skipping lunch. To his surprise, Jack follows him to the elevator.

“So, you in, kiddo?” Jack asks casually as Rhys stands by the elevator, waiting.

His blue eye flickers to life and Rhys thins his lips as he stares at Jack’s relaxed form. He still looms, his thick arms crossed and a confidant smirk situated on his lips.

Did he really want to come up here, every day, and work for somebody who was known for killing people over the simplest little errors? For somebody who had enough power to bring Hyperion to its knees and enough rage and determination to dig his claws into Pandora?

It seemed so simple right now, the work. Make him a fresh cup of coffee when his cup runs low and wait for any orders. Most of the time he stands there and looks pretty.

Jack hadn’t asked any sexual favors of him, and Rhys tries to squash down the feeling of _disappointment_.

Rhys bites his lower lip and closes his eyes for a moment.

Vaughn wouldn’t believe this. Athena would _kill him_. Yvette is going to expect lunch every day.

“I’m in,” Rhys breathes, opening his eyes just in time to see Jack grin wide.

He tries to ignore the suspicion that he’d just signed away his soul to the _Devil himself_.

-:-

He runs straight to his apartment when he gets out of the elevator. The hallways are empty and his mind is bursting with so many questions.

“Vaughn!” Rhys pushes the door open with his leg as he hurries into the small area.

The man was hunched over a plate of food, looking lost and confused until he jumped in surprise. “Oh my god,” He chirps, “Rhys – you’re _alive_?”

He sounds as surprised as Rhys feels.

-:-

Jack smiles to himself as he leans back in his desk, kicking his feet up proudly and basking in the sense of a day well done. He had a new little plaything to warm up to, and he’d actually replied to most of his emails.

That was a day well done.

He stares at the last remains of his coffee and pulls the cup closer with a low groan of annoyance. Even though he couldn’t keep the kid here the entire night, that didn’t change the fact that he had to stay here and tie up a few loose ends.

Jack finishes off the cup in a few gulps and sets the mug aside before placing the keyboard in his lap. He pulls up his contacts and starts to send a few _nicely_ worded messages to his ground troops on Pandora. He needed to find a new mining spot, regardless of its location.

As he smashes the send button and scratches at his chin, dual eyes happen to rest on the folded material on the far edge of his desk.

Rhys had forgotten his clothes.

Letting out an irritated huff, Jack throws the sturdy keyboard onto the desk and slams his feet on the ground. He reaches across the desk until his finger snags onto the edge of the vest, plucking it closer. Rhys had even folded his tie up into a nice little rectangle; one that unfolds easy thanks to Jack’s probing touches.

With a grin, he works the silky material through his fingers, watching the red change colors with the reflective lighting. Jack tips his head back before he slips the material around his neck lazily, not even putting in enough effort to properly tie it.

He yanks open a drawer in his desk and shoves the vest in there for later use, knowing that extra clothing was never a bad thing after some _fun_.

Jack’s eyes flicker to the clock on the edge of his monitor, and he frowns before settling in to continue typing, the tie still hanging around his neck.

-:-

“You’re…. you’re _serious_ – he asked you to – ”

“Be his personal assistant.” Rhys finishes breathlessly, sitting knee to knee with Vaughn on their dingy old couch.

The smaller man is amazed and horrified by the news. “Why?” He asks carefully, trying to figure out why Jack would just show up and whisk Rhys away. It wasn’t that he was questioning the man’s choices; he knew that Rhys would work to the bone to please somebody, but he knew it all couldn’t just be _coincidence_.

Rhys pauses and holds his breath. He knew why Jack had chosen him – if that lap dance had anything to say in the matter. But he couldn’t just tell Vaughn _that_.

“Uh – he just did.” Rhys states lamely, waving a hand like it was _nothing_. Vaughn’s blue eyes narrow and the taller man pouts. “I don’t know, okay? It just happened. I’m a little shocked myself.”

His friend still looks suspicious, but lets the discussion slide in favor of grilling Rhys for details.

-:-

Its 1200 when they finally call it quits, and when Rhys’ face hits his pillow, he hopes for the sweet embrace of rest.

Instead, he gets heavy eyelids and an over-active conscious.

Jack wouldn’t kill him, would he? Did he give second chances? Was the pay good? Would _the sex_ be good?

He groaned at that last thought, slapping his hands to his face. He couldn’t believe he’d actually agreed to _that_.

Shit.

Rhys hoped it’d be good.

It _better_ be good.

Good enough to make up for the fact that he could be jettisoned into space at a moments notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vaughn my smol buff bby. ily.
> 
> What are you going to do with that tie, Jack? :O


	8. Start of the Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire work will forever be unedited. ;~;
> 
> Anyways. A new chapter~

Rhys almost puts on a tie and another spare vest, but it only takes the echoing memory of ‘ _this isn’t working for me_ ’ to remind him that he was prohibited from wearing them. Instead, he reaches up with shaking fingers and pulls his collar open, watching himself in the steamy mirror of the bathroom as his throat is gradually exposed.

He takes a steadying breath and picks up his comb, brushing his damp hair back and trying to ignore the tattoo that had Jack’s total attention yesterday.

-:-

Jack enters his office around 0500, and promptly makes a list of things for his pretty little PA to do. It takes him a few moments to actually make a schedule, and he types gentler as he drafts up a document.

Once that’s complete, he adds a personal code for Rhys’ echoeye, ensuring that the kid would be able to check it anytime, anywhere. Grinning to himself, he wonders what other things he could send his kitten to make him squirm.

That deserved some looking into.

-:-

He and Vaughn part ways by the door, and the shorter man gives him a tiny smile. “Good luck today,” the financer says carefully.

Rhys tries to return the smile, but he can feel his nerves getting jittery already. He didn’t think he was ready for a full day of dealing with Jack.

The lithe man watches as his friend hurries down the hall with a wearisome sigh falling from his lips. He hoped that he’d be able to see him again tonight, given that he didn’t screw up on his second day on the job.

Quietly, he moves towards the nearest bank of elevators, weaving between chatting employees and trying to blend in despite his unusual state of his clothing. He doesn’t get very far before somebody glides up against his side and falls into step with him.

“I didn’t know it was casual Friday,” Yvette mummers with a grin tugging at her lips. “Did the dryer eat your tie again?”

Rhys feels his mood lift a little. “That only happened like – _once_ ,” He defends with a gentle bump against her shoulder. She returns it with a little more gusto and he almost falls over while she giggles.

The woman pats at her skirt and sighs, “I thought I had some money to pay you back.”

“Don’t even start.” Rhys pouts. He knew he’d never see that lunch money again, but he was strangely okay with that. Yvette leeched from both him and Vaughn easily, and he was starting to think she had a natural talent with doing so.

It occurs to him that he might not be enjoying lunch with her anymore. He didn’t know what was going to happen with Jack. He didn’t even know if he’d be _given_ a lunch break.

“Hey uh… something happened,” Rhys starts, sounding suddenly somber. It surprises both himself and Yvette.

She slows and grabs onto his forearm to stop his long legged strides. “What?” She asks carefully, searching his gaze worriedly. “Did you get fired? Is this why you’re dressed like that?”

“No – uh, actually the opposite.” Rhys shrugs and turns to face her before huffing to calm his nerves. “You know how you uh… saw me dancing at that… _uhm_ …”

“Bachelorette party?” Yvette cracks a grin at that memory. “How could I forget?”

“Well – I did another show a couple nights ago… and I ran into somebody…” Rhys feels instantly guilty for not telling Vaughn this. “Listen – I don’t want Vaughn to know, okay? But I,” He pulls her close to whisper his deed into her ear very quietly, “I _might’ve_ seen Handsome Jack. And given him a lapdance.”

“No.” She whispers in return, eyes growing wide. “You didn’t.”

Rhys nods and Yvette’s mouth drops open in shock. “So… he offered me a job? And I accepted – but you know – ”

“You _accepted_?” She hissed lowly, squeezing both his arms where they lay atop her shoulders. “Are you _crazy_? He could kill you – oh god, Rhys – I knew you were going to get yourself into trouble.”

“I couldn’t just tell him _no_ ,” Rhys grumbles, taking a step back to cross his arms defensively, and she gives him a sympathetic look.

He doesn’t tell her that he _didn’t_ want to turn down the job.

-:-

Athena was pacing, and it was starting to drive Fiona crazy. “Please calm down.” She grumbles, standing in the full length mirror while she adjusts the hat just right. “If he hasn’t called, then he’s fine.”

“Or he’s _dead_.” Athena grouches seriously. “Did you see the way Jack looked at him?”

“Of course I did.” Fiona sighs, turning away from the mirror to cross her arms. “But he hasn’t called. And we can’t really find him unless you want to go parading around Helios.”

The guard looks like she actually considers it, and Fiona rolls her eyes before walking out of the bedroom to find her boots. “We leave in two days. If you want, I’ll try to contact him later. We switched codes – he’s pretty proud of his new tech.”

Athena thins her lips, but relaxes her stance. “Fine.”

They stay in silence for a while as Fiona buckles her boots and adjust the window on her shirt. Finally, the dancing con looks over towards Athena. “Why are you suddenly so worried about Rhys? I’ve only known him for a week, tops. And you even less.”

The woman turns towards the stars drifting by the space station to avoid Fiona’s gaze. Her hand reaches up automatically to toy with the edge of her dark scarf. “He reminds me of someone.”

Her dead tone stops Fiona from pressing the subject further.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you guys are probably thirsting for the Rhys and Jack interaction... and you will get some next chapter.
> 
> I'm trying to divvy out enough moments with all the characters who will play a key role later on~~ :>
> 
> Hope you're enjoying! :) Comments greatly appreciated.


	9. Best Seat In the House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very unedited. ;^;

Jack is there to greet him by the elevators, grinning wide and _excited_ as he looks Rhys up and down with satisfaction. His actions only set Rhys further on edge after suffering through a silent, long elevator ride with just his thoughts to keep him company.

Yvette had tried her best to lift his mood before she had to exit at her stop, and they had exchanged nervous little smiles. Rhys tried to remind himself that this probably wouldn’t be the last time he’d see her.

“Mornin’ cupcake,” Jack starts, motioning him out of the elevator, which had only opened thanks to him overriding it. “Elevator thing is going to be difficult, c’mere.” He crooks a finger towards Rhys before moving across the room to his desk.

Rhys follows nervously without any question. He stands by the side while Jack bends over the keyboard and types in a five-digit code. From there, the desk suddenly spits out a scanner, and its sudden appearance makes Rhys jump a little.

Jack lifts his eyes over to his startled PA and frowns. “ _Somebody’s_ a little high strung today. Don’t worry, kiddo. This won’t hurt.” Reaching over, he grabs Rhys by the wrist on his left hand and tugs him a little closer. “Place your thumb there; wait ‘till it beeps at you.”

Lifting his eyebrows in surprise, Rhys allowed the CEO to guide his hand there, and felt himself flushing as Jack didn’t let go as expected. The man’s hand was warm, but not sweaty. The marking around his wrist looked to be fading with age, and Rhys pressed his thumb down on the pad gently, his eyes focused on the dark pattern scrawled into Jack’s skin.

All too soon the scanner gives a beep of approval and Jack released his hand with a satisfied nod. The scanner disappeared back inside the edge of the desk and Jack nodded happily. “There you go, now the elevators will actually open without my help, kitten.”

He then nods towards the coffee machine and takes a seat behind the computer, falling into a lapse of silence. Rhys clenches his hand a little and hurriedly turns to make the coffee, a goofy smile on his lips as he did so.

For a moment he paused, his thumb brushing the place Jack had touched just moments ago. He could swear it was still warm with the man’s presence.

“Hurry it up, sweetheart.” Jack reminds him with a heavier tone bleeding through his voice.

“I-It’s brewing,” Rhys explains, watching from the corner of his eye and Jack’s typing suddenly stops.

For a moment there was nothing but silence.

Rhys’ heart sinks.

 _He’s dead_.

Jack suddenly heaves in a deep breath and Rhys can hear him riffling around through a drawer for something. The man gives a little triumphant hum and then leans back smugly in the chair. “Come here, cupcake. I got something just for you.”

When Rhys turns towards him, trying to identify this mysterious something, he finds that Jack has it hidden in the palm of his hand. Jack smiles at him and pats his lap, which gets Rhys to gawk.

He couldn’t be serious, right?

“Come on, I don’t have all day, princess.” He warns, and Rhys is quick to step over towards his side. Jack merely leans back and pats at his lap again, raising a brow quizzically at Rhys when the PA doesn’t move. “Best seat in the house, kiddo.”

Rhys is waiting for Jack to laugh and tell him it’s just a joke, and he stands by the desk with wide eyes and a rigid posture. Jack’s mood sours and his lips curl into a sneer. “I said, come here, _kitten_.” He stresses with narrowing eyes.

Swallowing, Rhys steps forward hesitantly. The older man yanks him closer by the pocket of his slacks, and keeps pulling Rhys until the lithe man’s thighs were pressed up against his knees. From there, he gestures to his lap and leans back, waiting.

The young man was at a complete loss, but then again, it wasn’t the _first time_ he was in Jack’s lap. Quietly, he swings one leg into the CEO’s lap, and then the other, balancing on the chair’s arms as he curls up there awkwardly, his long legs making it difficult.

Jack purred with the pleasure, his hands coming up to gently coax Rhys out of the curled up position, and instead swings the PA’s legs over the edge of one armrest. “Good, very good, cupcake.” Jack’s earlier anger completely dissipates and he leans forward while uncurling his fist.

Inside sits a little memory stick, the end of it branched out to fit into Rhys’ port. The man eyes it warily as Jack holds it up and wags it a little. “What is that?” Rhys asks very carefully, trying to ignore the fact that he was currently seated in Jack’s lap.

It was oddly _comforting_ , and Rhys chased those thoughts away with the reminder that he could still be murdered up here in this office. All alone. With nobody but Jack to hear his screams.

“ _This_ , kitten, is your schedule. It’ll update when I tell it too, but first, you need the code.” He flips the stick with surprising skill before catching it again and coaxing Rhys’ head closer. “Just stay still, this won’t hurt a bit, promise.”

Rhys allows the man to lead his head in close, and finds his brows pressed up against Jack’s collar bone. As he takes in a deep breath to steady himself, he can’t but to notice that Jack smells _nice_.

 _Very nice_.

Of course the man had money had his disposal, so he could buy whatever cologne he wanted to. But whatever he was wearing made Rhys lean into him closer, trying to sneakily catch another whiff of the scent so he could try and put his finger on it.

He naturally tenses up when he feels Jack brush his thumb over his port, and bites his lip to hold back any protests. It was just a schedule.

 _Calm down_ , Rhys tells himself, _he said it wasn’t going to hurt. Probably_.

Thankfully, before Rhys can second guess it anymore, Jack slides the memory stick into his port without much fuss. It always feels funny, things going into his head, and Rhys’ breath catches despite his best efforts to remain calm.

Jack strokes at his cheek absently while watching the memory stick intently. Rhys feels the data pouring into his echonet, and his eye powers on to full capacity to review the new information.

> _Kitten’s schedule;_
> 
> _0900 – whenever I please._
> 
> _Do whatever I tell you to do_.

That was it.

Leave it to Jack to give him basically _nothing_ to go off of.

Jack pulls the memory stick out and Rhys gives a full body shudder at the sensation. Tutting, the man pats at his back while flicking the stick onto his desk. “There we go. That wasn’t so bad, was it, kiddo?”

Rhys shakes his head and heaves in a deep lungful, his eyes flickering into a more natural state. “T-That’s it?” He asks shakily, leaning back to see how Jack grins at him.

“That’s it. Like I said, the code is self-updating.” Jack says it like it was the simplest thing in the world, and Rhys tries to figure out who the man hired to code up that design. The man pat’s at his knees and sits forwards slightly. “Alright, kitten. Up you go, I need a fresh cup of joe.”

Nodding, Rhys swings his legs over and hops to his feet, wincing as he quick movement pulls a pained grunt from the older man. Instead of looking back, the lithe man hurries over to the pot and finds that it had already beeped.

He takes the plain mug and fills it with the right mixture of sugar and coffee, stirring until the clear granules melt into the heat. When he finally turns around, he finds that Jack is still watching him instead of the screen like usual, and he awkwardly offers a tiny grin to the man while he walks over to the desk.

“H-Here’s the coffee,” Rhys clears his throat, face heating up when Jack smirks in response to his stuttering tone.

His large hand wraps around the mug before Rhys can put it down on the coaster, and he eases it from the PA’s hands, their fingers brushing and making Rhys’ heartrate spike to his total mortification.

“Thanks, kitten.” Jack purrs innocently. He takes a large gulp and clicks his tongue before setting the cup aside without another word.

Stepping back, Rhys nervously folds his hands behind his back so he doesn’t fiddle with things, and waits further instruction.

Jack is still smiling ever so subtly as he goes over his documents, and Rhys stares down at his shoes to try and will the redness from his cheeks.

 _It’s just Jack_ , he thinks, _you know – only the guy I’ve been fantasizing about all through college_.

That does little to ease his thoughts and he instead finds himself pushed right into all those embarrassingly detailed little day dreams. He bites his lower lips and closes his eyes, breathing through his nose.

Eventually the red subsides, and he sighs thankfully.

“Hey, kitten~” Jack suddenly sing-songs, focusing mismatched eyes onto the young man by his side. “Next time you bring my coffee over, could you maybe – oh, I don’t know – do a little dance? Just for me?”

The red is instantly back with a vengeance and Rhys nods noiselessly, his eyes rising to meet Jack’s gaze while the man rumbles in approval.

“Wonderful,” Jack says with a crooked grin on his lips, and Rhys knows he’s _screwed_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UGh - okay, I like this chapter but... I had some pretty big plans for this fic - I really did. From how Rhys would loose his arm and the whole blue tattoos we see in canon but... I don't know anymore.
> 
> It seems like everyone fights over the comics verses the games and what is correct and people really police the entire fandom on a certain topic of those tattoos. (´；ω；`)
> 
> I want to continue this story with it's original outline ... but I really don't want people tossing hate at me. I don't want to disrespect the lore, but everyone fights over the comic lore vs the game lore!  
>  I kind of just want to have fun with the AU and write... (╯︵╰,)
> 
> *sits in corner and skulks* 
> 
> I don't know. Just kind of suddenly discouraged - which isn't really fair to my readers because you guys have been really kind to me. 
> 
> Any thoughts or input is really appreciated right now.   
> ╥﹏╥  
> Sorry I'm such a melon...


	10. Hard Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited. Kinda another filler chapter... ;-;

On the way back down to his apartment, Rhys stops by to take a breather in one of the public lounges. It was a pleasant area, fitted with comfortable seating and private little corners where couples could share a kiss or a man could drown away a sorrow secretively.

He decides to sit towards one of the largest windows available in the lounge, facing the darkness of space and trying to find comfort in the star’s gentle glowing.

The man can hardly believe that Jack asked him to sit in his lap – like he was some cute little lapdog. He supposes it wasn’t that bad. It was actually kind of… _fun_. In a thrilling and embarrassing way.

Sighing, the man curls into himself and rubs his palms together as he tries to come up with new moves while walking. He could sashay his hips, and Jack liked that – but there was only so much he could do with his hands while holding a mug of steaming coffee.

Before his thoughts can get too far, Rhys is startled out of his skin by a sudden arm being wrapped around his shoulder. He nearly bites off his tongue in his shock, and turns slightly to see Fiona squeezing his arm with a wide grin.

“See, I told you we’d find him – _alive_.” The woman says to Athena as she stalks towards the both. Fiona lowers her voice to Rhys as she makes herself comfortable on the arm of the white chair. “Watch out, she’s not happy?”

Rhys doesn’t have time to ask why before Athena is standing in front of him with crossed arms and a scowl. “Uh… hi?” He offers instead, trying to flash a smile, but Athena’s sour mood persists. Swallowing, he shrugs and gives them both a pleading look. “What’s uh… what’s up?”

“We’re getting ready to leave Helios soon,” Fiona supplies with a carefree shrug, and Athena lets out a disturbed sigh. “She wanted to come make sure you were still alive and all that.”

“Oh,” Rhys gives them a grin. “Funny thing about _that_ …”

Athena’s eyes seem to take on a ghostly glow under the hood and Rhys lets out a completely nervous laugh as she looms closer. By the time he spits out the little position he’d found himself in, even Fiona was scowling, the playful grin falling from her features.

“Are you crazy?” Athena asks him seriously, squeezing her hands into capable fists. “You _want_ to work for him?”

“I-It’s not that bad, honest.” Rhys tries to assure, holding a hand up in his defense. “It’s just a bunch of coffee and paperwork,” _and sitting in his lap and watching him smile_.

The gladiator isn’t buying it, and she hooks her finger around his wrist as if to checks for marks under the blue company shirt. Rhys watches while she peeks at his wrist, and doesn’t take any notice to the way her eyes widen as the spindly end of his blue markings show across his veins.

“Hey, c’mon. If I was in trouble, I’d tell you.” Rhys insists while yanking his arm back.

Athena says nothing, her gaze troubled even more with thought. She’d seen those marking’s before.

Fiona glances between them both before sitting up to face the lithe man. “You have my code. If you want to set up another show, give me a call. And if… if you want to talk,” She squeezes his shoulder, “I’m here for that, too.”

-:-

The first few days go by without incident. Rhys learns that the previous PA was killed thanks to snooping, and he makes a mental not to never, _ever_ do that.

One day he overhears the man yelling at some ‘incompetent’ scouts down on Pandora. Something about a mining site and Rhys finds himself worrying for Fiona when the name ‘Hollow Point’ comes up. Later, when Jack is muttering to himself and punishing the keyboard, Rhys learns that Jack wants nothing to do with the bandits down in Hollow Point.

“Bunch of incompetent scouts… what’re thinking? Asking those – those murderers for _help_?” Jack hisses darkly, lifting his gaze to Rhys and motioning him over. The PA seats himself on the edge of the desk hesitantly and Jack heaves a deep sigh, scooting closer to rest his head on Rhys’ thigh. “It cannot be that hard to find an Eridium leak, can it kiddo?”

Rhys doesn’t think Jack really wants an answer, and instead tests his luck by placing his hand on the crown of Jack’s head. The man goes rigid for a moment, and Rhys’ heart stops.

He can’t shake the thoughts that one wrong move and it was all over.

Jack relaxes and gives a little nod, allowing Rhys to touch him. Quietly, Rhys conceals his utter glee as he runs his fingers through the graying fringe in Jack’s hair. The man’s hair is a mixture of softness and a distinctive feeling of a little gel.

They sit like that for a long while, and if Rhys didn’t know better he’d think that Jack was enjoying it.

-:-

He tries his best to keep in touch with Yvette, but it’s getting harder and harder to bump into the woman in the hallways with his random schedule.

Vaughn pretends that he’s not worried, but Rhys can feel it in the air of their tiny apartment. “Hey, bro.” The financer says while pedaling away on his bike furiously, watching the documentary that was displayed across a projector. “I saved you some dinner – just some old mac n’ cheese.”

“Thanks, man,” Rhys sighs as he slides into the living room after kicking the door closed. He looks beat, a combination of running around Helios to join Jack on a tour of some new science development, and trying to stay on the man’s good side. He’d been in a particularly nasty mood today.

The tall man walks a few feet into their kitchen and finds the pan atop the stove. “I tried to keep it warm,” Vaughn adds, and Rhys nods happily as he lifts the lid and grabs a spoon from the drawer. He places the pan on the coffee table and settles on their worn down couch. Vaughn doesn’t comment on his lack of a proper bowl. They’d both had those rough days.

Rhys doesn’t exactly watch the screen, merely shovels the noodles into his mouth and chews automatically. He almost feels like falling asleep right there on the couch, and he would have too, if Vaughn had not come to check on him. Instead the lithe man drags himself into his bedroom and collapses face first onto the bed, not even bothering with changing and taking a shower.

He hardly has enough energy left in him to kick his shoes off before he’s snoring into the yellow patterned pillowcase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Rhysie, my tiny tall bby.
> 
> Thank you guys for all the kind words - I'm sorry I had a moment of awkwardness back there. I plan on doing my best to follow through with my original ideas and I'm really glad that you guys are so understanding and motivating. *hugs all around*


	11. Tardy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited.  
> Warnings for some cussing and a capslock thing at the very end. Also an asshole character.

He’s terribly late waking up. He’d slept through his alarm and now he was almost an hour late. Rhys jumps out of the bed and rips the old clothes off his body before struggling into new outfit. He doesn’t have time to take a shower and instead gingerly adds a little more cologne to his throat and wrists to make up for it.

Rhys tugs on his boots and lurches out the door with his eye brining up his schedule from the echonet. There were no new changes by Jack, and Rhys only panics more. Slamming open his door, he hurries out into the hall and only half ways pays attention. His eye is alight with information as he rushes down the long stretch, which is thankfully pretty much empty at this time.

-:-

Jack glares at his empty mug and sits up from his seat to double check the elevators. Still no sign of Rhys. Frowning, the man doesn’t contain his displeased growl. “What is taking that kid so long?” He huffs and yanks at his pocket watch to check the time.

That does little to calm him down.

Nearly an hour tardy!

He takes in a deep breath while trying his best to calmly clip the watch back onto the side of his jacket. From there he stalks down the elevators and glares daggers at the scanner while it works. “Late… _unbelievable_ … do I gotta punish him – oh, ” Jack grins from ear to ear as he steps inside the elevator.

He could do that.

-:-

Rhys ended up running into somebody. It was the type of bone jarring speed that sent both parties on their ass. Scrambling back to his feet, the PA nervously tries to get a good look at the person he’d unceremoniously run over.

“I-I’m so sorry, oh god,” Rhys’ breath catches with a mixture of fatigue and fear. “Here, let me help – ” Crouching down, he offers the downed employee a helping hand, and gets a harsh slap to his arm for the trouble.

Rhys reels back and his eyes go wide when he finally recognizes the man.

His old boss.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The man snarls, pushing himself up to his feet and narrowing his eyes at the young man. It takes him a moment to connect the Hyperion’s face with a memory, but when he does, a sneer stretches across his features. “What, just because you got picked up god almighty, you think you’re better than _me_?”

 _God almight?_ Rhys thinks, _Is he talking about Jack_?

“Don’t just stand there, answer me.” The man snarls, and Rhys takes a step back out of precaution. His old boss was always like this, grouchy and quick to anger – although he’d never ran into him before.

“I – uh – ” Rhys starts, taking another step back when the man snarled and advanced. “I’m sorry,” Rhys tries, hoping to sedate the man’s anger without catching another stray hit.

“Sorry – that’s all you guys ever say _. I’m sorry this – and I’m sorry sir please_ , but it doesn’t fix the fact that you fucked up.” He advances with another step forward, boxing Rhys against a wall as the gentle, tall man just stares at his ex-boss with wide eyes.

-:-

Jack knew which sector Rhys lived on, one of the lower ones that was pretty cheap but nothing to be jealous over. He idly wondered how Rhys would react to seeing his crib up at the tippy top of Helios. Humming with interest at those ideas, as well as some interesting ideas of punishment, he hardly feels the long elevator ride down.

When the elevators finally stop and swivel open, Jack is greeted to the sight of an empty complex, most of the occupants already hard at work. He marches out and gives a low sound of annoyance, trying to see a marker to Rhys’ hallway.

 _Why aren’t these freaking things marked_?

Grumbling, he squints at a small map projected above an echo device and tries to navigate from the point that proclaimed ‘ _You Are Here’_ but it was all mumbo jumbo to him. That, and the text was _way_ too small. He couldn’t read that without his glasses, and he’d rather be caught touching himself than wearing those things.

He huffs in a breath and stubbornly crosses his arms, glaring at the screen silently.

For a moment, he thinks he faintly hears something. Shaking his head, he holds his breath and stands a little straighter.

Ah, he _did_ hear something.

Sounded a whole lot like somebody screaming at the top of their little, insignificant lungs.

With his curiosity aroused, Jack stalks off towards the sound like a big cat on the prowl.

-:-

Rhys’ back is braced up against the wall and his hands are held in front of his chest lamely. “L-Listen – _Sir_ , please, I am really sorry. I’m late and I – I didn’t see you – ”

The man is nearly red in the face, huffing and puffing at Rhys like he going to actually hit him. What bothers him most though, is that Rhys has given him absolutely no reason to bash his face in.

The kid was just standing there and taking the tongue lashing, just like the man remembered. He always liked Rhys for that reason. Docile, _sweet_ , and trying his absolute best to please the higher-ups.

It was a shame, he thought, that Handsome Jack had to come in and take his favorite little working man away.

“Oh, you’re late,” The older man taunted, pulling his voice into a higher pitch to mock Rhys, “ _I’m late, I’m late – oh no, oh no,_ whatever _shall I do_?” When a hurt frown twitches onto Rhys’ face and his hands go down a little, the man continues with a laugh, “What’re you late for, _huh_? Sucking Jack’s fucking dick?”

Rhys goes to protest, but both of them freeze up when somebody cuts in from further down the hall, “Ugh, what do I keep telling you people? _Language_. Language, c’mon it’s not _that_ hard.”

Jack grins wide and shark-like when the PA’s ex-boss whirls around to see him walking up. Rhys just stares at him from against the wall, looking equal parts confused and shaken.

Despite the CEO’s lazy grin, Jack was raging inside. He’d expected to find Rhys sleeping, not getting his face spat on from a yelling little fool. And who the hell did that guy think he was? Yelling at his kitten like that?

“Well, now that I have your attention, do you wanna know what I’m thinking about, kiddo?” Jack asks, tipping his head to the side to get a better look at Rhys from behind the startled stranger. “I’m thinking…” He pauses to hum while coming to stand in front of the man, loving the way he goes from powerful screaming to knee shaking fear. “I’m thinking about squeezing something… really tightly… until it turns blue and maybe even _snaps_.” He taps at his chin before looming closer to the man as he gulps, “Yeah… I think you know what I’m talking about.”

Rhys is watching him with horror filled eyes and Jack heaves a deep sigh. He didn’t want to scare the poor kid off too early on. Besides, Rhys had some potential. He needed to work it out of him drop by drop.

Rolling his eyes, he quietly mumbles, “But I _think_ I’m in a good mood today.” It’s a lie. “And that’s why… I’m going to give you three seconds to…” He narrows his mismatched eyes and snarls loudly, “ _GET OUT OF MY SIGHT_!”

Rhys jumps in alarm and the man is gone within moments, scrambling down another hallway like his life depended on it, and at that moment, if he had hesitated, Jack knew he would’ve have let the guy live.

Jack shifts his weight to his other food and gives Rhys a bored look, ignoring the fear shinning in the young man’s eyes. “Come on, kiddo, I _really_ need some coffee right about now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently Jack doesn't like it when people yell at his Rhysie.


	12. Punishment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooo Boy. Okay...  
> Uhm, unedited.  
> And warnings for spanking in this chapter.

The elevator ride is uncomfortable. Rhys is stiff at his side and taking in little breaths to keep himself calm. Jack stands with his arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently.

“So… who was that guy?” He asks at last, turning his head to watch as Rhys swallows and stares at the floor.

“That uh… That was my boss.”

The way he says it makes Jack’s nose scrunch up a little. “Name, kitten.” He demands simply, not wanting to put too much pressure on the already fidgety Rhys.

He was saving that fun stuff for later.

Rhys looks at him then, his mouth agape and eyes wide. He wants to ask Jack what the man was going to do, but he felt that he already knew the answer. “Mister Clinton.” He blurts before he can stop himself, his heart pounding in his chest.

He’d just signed some guy’s death sentence.

Jack gives a pensive hum and stores that information away. “Thanks, kiddo. Appreciate it… now; I gotta another little question for you… why were you so late? Don’t tell me that guy had you like that for an hour, kitten.”

Rhys pales and nervously lowered his gaze. “I-I slept in.” He admits, looking like was bracing himself for some sort of outburst from the CEO.

Jack watches him with a smirk. “Slept in… wow, I wore you out, didn’t I, baby?” He teases, raising his brows as the smirk forms into a shit-eating grin in response to the color suddenly painting his PA’s cheeks. “Either way, you’re _late_.”

Rhys nods glumly.

“It’s okay, cupcake.” Jack soothes as the elevator comes to a halt. “You can make it up to me.”

-:-

Rhys is on edge the rest of the day, wondering what Jack had meant by making it up to him. He made the coffee perfectly, and did his paperwork in silence, keeping his head down and lips shut.

His mind spun a thousand different tales from doing a dance to getting the shit beat out of him to make Jack forgive his absence.

Jack sits in the desk all day, unusually quiet and it doesn’t help Rhys at all. The man had yet to grouch about his scouts or complain about a meeting schedule. He didn’t even slam his hand down on the keyboard once today.

Rhys can’t help but to feel like he’d really messed up this time. Sure, he’d gotten papers mixed up once or twice, or didn’t add enough sugar to the cup and even one time he spilled the coffee on accident – but he’d never been _late_.

Jack makes it sound like it was the worst offense in the world, right up there with mass murder.

“Alright, kitten. Come here,” Jack suddenly says, interrupting both Rhys’ thoughts and his mindless leafing through documents. The PA had stopped organizing them a while ago.

Swallowing, Rhys turns towards the desk and almost expects to find Jack waiting there with a gun. Instead, the man is leaned back in the chair, his arms laid atop either armrest and his expression relaxed and welcoming.

Knowing better than to make him repeat it twice, Rhys walks over to Jack with his heart in his throat. Once he’s close enough, Jack grabs him gently by the hip and leads him between his legs, keeping the lithe man’s back pressed up against the edge of the desk. “Good boy,” He soothes quietly while patting Rhys’ side. “Turn around, face the wall.”

Rhys slowly does so, turning his back on Jack and feeling so much more scared. He couldn’t see what the CEO was going to do to him anymore. “Okay, baby. Bend over.” Jack’s words are slow to connect in the younger man’s mind.

“W-what?” Rhys asks, his throat suddenly dry.

“Bend over, kitten.” Jack says again, the smile obvious in his tone.

Trying to control his breathing, Rhys does as he’s told. He bends over the desk until his chest touches the warm wooden surface. Jack grabs at his hands gently and lifts them up by his shoulders. “Keep these here.” He orders smoothly while standing up from the plush chair. “And count with me.”

“Count?” The poor man was confused – what did Jack want him to count?

Jack answers with a sudden and firm slap right across his ass. Rhys yelps and tries to jump up, but Jack keeps him down on the desk with a big hand pressed into his back.

Jack was going to _spank_ him.

Rhys’ face goes instantly red, a mixture of mortification and _enjoyment_.

 _Oh shit_ , the younger man thinks _, I’ve thought about this_.

“Shh, kitten. Count with me.” Jack hushes him, and Rhys can’t help but to spread his legs a little further apart.

“O-One,” The PA chokes out, squeezing his hands into fists and reaching up to brace himself against the edge, his knuckles turning white as he holds on tight.

Jack gives a throaty hum in response and slaps him again without warning, drawing a surprised gasp from Rhys’ lips as he does so. His hand is large and unforgiving, and Rhys presses his cheek against the desk and tries not to think too hard about the marks that are going to be left.

“Two,” He says clearer, breathing through his nose and squeezing his eyes shut when Jack rubs his palm soothingly across his clothed ass before giving him another, bruising slap. This time Rhys tries to jerk away instinctively, and Jack puts more weight into the palm splayed out against the young man’s blue blouse.

Rhys bits his lip to hold back his embarrassing squawk. He mumbles the next number into the desk, his voice slurred and quiet.

“What was that, kitten? I can’t hear you.” Jack purrs, his voice suddenly right by Rhys’ ear. The man’s eyes snap open and he shivers as Jack’s warm breath tickles his neck. “Do we need to start over?”

“N-No, Jack. I’m sorry.” Rhys pleads, pushing himself up onto his toes. “Three!” He says louder, hoping that would be enough to avoid starting over.

“Good boy,” Jack says, and he leans back, giving Rhys some breathing room before his hand comes down in another smack. The kid yelps at the strike and Jack leaves his hand there against his cheek, his thumb rubbing gently into the tender flesh.

Rhys huffs in a deep breath, blinking back tears before he gasps, “Four…” He shifts one leg to balance out his weight, and stiffens with a low moan gurgling up his throat as it makes his dick rub into the edge of the desk.

Jack gives him another, steady slap coupled with a coo of praise, and Rhys finds himself half-hard and choking back a moan. “Five – Five, oh my god, _Jack_.”

The CEO’s breath catches at how debauched the kid sounds beneath him. Squirming on his toes and holding onto the desk with all his might. Jack wishes that he could see Rhys’ face while he’s like this.

 _Christ, is he enjoying this_?

“Almost done, kiddo,” Jack breathes, and Rhys can’t help but to whine at the sound of the older man’s voice. Huskier, the tone deep with smug surprise and so fucking _attractive_. Rhys’ dick twitches again when Jack delivers one final, punishing blow.

“Six!” Rhys cries out, jerking forwards and nearly banging his forehead into the desk.

For a long moment, they merely sit there in silence, the sound of their panting the only noise in the room. The hand on Rhys’ back slowly slides away, and instead comes to rest on his ass, both of Jack’s hand absently rubbing there.

He had divvied out the slaps across both cheeks, three for three, ensuring that the kid wouldn’t be able to sit too long without squirming and _remembering_ this little session.

“There,” Jack sighs, collapsing back into the chair and pressing a palm to his dick. _Down, Jack, not now_ , he tells himself while watching Rhys slowly release the desk and brace himself on his elbows. “Come here, kid. I’m not mad at you.” He says gently, surprising himself with how he sounds then, all open and accepting.

Rhys lifts a head over his shoulder to see that Jack was patting his thighs welcomingly. The PA winces when he finally stands to full height, both in response to the lingering pain of the spanking and the way that his dick is half hard and pressed into his slacks tightly.

Jack notices the half-flagged erection, but keeps his mouth shut. Rhys didn’t look like he could take anymore teasing, and frankly, neither could Jack.

It takes Rhys a little longer to get into Jack’s lap, and the CEO has to help him get settled. He shushes him with a little chuckle when Rhys whines high in his throat before guiding the kid’s head against his chest. “There, much better, kitten.”

 _Not really_ , Rhys thinks, because his ass is still sore and down south is still trying to burst free.

Thankfully, Jack’s lap is oddly comfortable. His thighs are large with muscle and his spread out position makes it easier for Rhys to drape his legs across the length of the chair. Rhys closes his eyes and leans his head into the crook of Jack’s neck, breathing through his nose to enjoy the older man’s scent.

Jack scoots the chair a little closer and grabs the keyboard before placing it atop Rhys’ knees and typing, and Rhys finds himself relaxing even further with the help of the steady sounds of the keys. Rhys can feel Jack’s deep breathing, the CEO’s chest expanding and falling with each intake and exhale.

Absently, Rhys opens an eye to peek at what Jack was working on, and he finds that the man’s text was abnormally large. Rhys is pretty sure that he could stand back a good several feet and still be able to read it correctly if he squinted.

He balls his hands up in the material of Jack’s thick coat and lets out a carefree sigh, figuring that Jack probably needed glasses – but with the CEO’s attitude, he could see why Jack didn’t want any.

He’d probably pout like a child if he had to wear them.

The thought of Jack wearing tiny, framed, reading spectacles makes Rhys chuckle sleepily, and Jack glances down at him curiously in response before Rhys shifts and lets out a little whine.

“Hope you learned your lesson,” Jack says offhandedly while sending another email. “Don’t be late again.”

 _If this is the punishment for being late, maybe I should try it again_ …

Rhys shakes his head with a flush coating his cheeks, willing that thought away.

Jack could still airlock him at a moment’s notice, even if the large hand gently rubbing into Rhys’ knee speaks only in volumes of kindness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, okay you got me already. Jack probably needs glasses to read shit because his eyes are failing with age. The branding did little to help that. (There is an obvious age-gap in Rhack... >B] )
> 
> I will fite very softly for glasses!Jack... (๑و•̀ω•́)و 
> 
> And... there is a lack of spanking in the Borderlands fandom? I tried my best to write it. First time really writing a punishment spanking scene... *nervous wheeze*
> 
> Comments appreciated! Did you guys like this?


	13. Egg Soup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a fluffy filler chapter!  
> Unedited.

Rhys eats whatever Jack is having from lunch, and the man’s tastes run from simple noodles to expensive soups. The young man at first felt hesitant about eating such foods, but Jack merely had waved his forkful of curly noodles and explained that it was really no big deal.

It was just _food_.

So Rhys had sat on the edge of the desk, within arm’s reach of Jack, and ate everything that the CEO had ordered for them.

Today was no different. When the lunch hour rolls around, Rhys was still seated in the older man’s lap. His eyes half open as he watched the man pull up documents and leave seemingly random annotations – which sometimes only consisted of ‘ _?!_ ’ – on several messages.

The young man felt incredibly comfortable and at ease with this seating arrangement. His ass had stopped hurting and now was only tender if he shifted the wrong way. Jack was surprisingly docile the entire day, his typing concentrated and every time he took a break to take a call, his hands ran up and down Rhys’ flank soothingly.

Rhys tuned out the calls and instead listened to the pull and breathing from Jack’s throat whenever he swallowed or chuckled. With his nose so close to the man’s pulse point for so long, the PA had finally pinned down what he smelled like.

Smokey, like too warm embers in a dying fire. But there was also a gentler scent that lay underneath, and as Rhys stifled a yawn against Jack’s collarbone, he finally figured it out. Vanilla, strangely enough.

Jack smelled like wood smoke and vanilla.

When he brought up the time on the echonet, Rhys shifted a little and moved to get out of the CEO’s lap. He had to go get their lunch from the main floor before it got cold.

Jack tensed up and wrapped one arm around Rhys’ shoulders to still his movements. “Something the matter, kitten?” He asked, raising a brow and smirking when Rhys let out a little whine.

“Lunch?” The younger man finally spits out. “I need to go get our lunch.”

“Oh, is that it?” Jack gives a throaty hum and mumbles, “Lunch time already?” When he spies the time in his monitor, the CEO pats Rhys on the shoulder and pulls him back into his chest. “Guess so. Aright, kitten, sit tight.”

Rhys tries to question it, but Jack presses his index finger into a little caller by the monitor and smugly orders, “Hey – change of plans, can you go get our lunches, princess? We’re a little… _busy_ up here.” Rhys whines again at Jack’s wording and it makes the CEO snicker delightfully.

It takes a few seconds before his secretary politely answers, “I’ll have it sent right up, sir.”

Jack nods happily and rubs his big hand over the small of Rhys’ back. “See? Problem solved.” He leans back in the seat and pulls Rhys flush against him before he kicks one leg up on the edge of the desk, pressing the smooth sole against the rounded edge. Rhys’ face is reddening at the action, and the tipped chair makes it impossible to get any personal space.

“Easy there, kiddo.” Jack huffs quietly as he pats at the PA’s back. “Just relax.”

It takes a whole lot of effort to ‘just relax’ but Rhys closes his eyes and gives in. With his eyes closed, Rhys puffs out a breath and adjusts his knees against the cushioned armrest before pillowing his head against Jack’s shoulders and lets himself enjoy the older man’s warmth and odd habits.

He could get used to wasting a few hours like this, curled up in Jack’s lap and watching him work.

Jack doesn’t say anything while they wait. He keeps one hand on the crown of Rhys’ knees and the other wrapped around the younger man’s middle.

The elevators let out a beep and Jack reaches out to type in another, longer code. The elevators wheel open without either Rhys’ or Jack’s fingerprint. A shaking man comes out holding a large tray with two covered bowls. Jack grins at him and taps the desk. “Right here, pumpkin.”

On weak legs, the stranger hurries over and sets the tray carefully on the edge of the desk, his eyes lifting up to stare at Rhys with confusion. The PA flushes and Jack growls, “Out.”

As quickly as the man came, he left, scrambling into the elevator before the doors slide closed.

“Okay, kitten.” Jack slips his leg off the edge and scoots the chair closer to the desk. “Ordered some of that egg soup you like so much,” He uncovers one bowl and grabs the spoon before lifting it towards Rhys. “You’ve got expensive tastes, cupcake. These eggs come right from Pandora.”

Rhys cradles the bowl in both hands and watches while Jack places the spoon into the thick substance. From there, the older man uncovers his own bowl and wastes no time in digging in, somehow managing to eat over Rhys lap like it was not strange at all.

The young man picks up his spoon and carefully starts to follow Jack’s example. The soup was deliciously, thick and creamy and peppered to perfection. Rhys wolfed it down embarrassingly quick, but he was oddly famished after the day, even if he’d only spent most of it so far doing nothing.

He guessed that getting yelled at, spanked and then coddled had something to do with that.

Awkwardly, he reaches over and puts the bowl carefully back into the tray. Jack chuckles but says nothing. Rhys swallows and licks his lips absently while leaning his temple back against Jack’s shoulder, while he waits; he loads up his echonet and checks to see if he had any messages from Vaughn.

None today.

Frowning, he blinks and instead pulls up old files of objects he’d scanned, reading through the information diligently. He’d recently scanned an unusually bright star from Jack’s office and found that Hyperion thought it might be a dying sun of a whole new system.

Humming with interest, he closes the information and allows his eye to fade into a more natural mode. He finds that Jack has since set aside his bowl and was now watching him with a wolf like grin.

“Reading something?” He asks lazily, looking quite pleased with himself and his now full stomach.

Rhys nods awkwardly before wincing when Jack sits up a little straighter, the memories of his punishment fresh on his tender skin.

Jack gently hooks one arm under Rhys’ knees and the PA merely stares at him curiously while the older man’s other arm hooks around his shoulders. “Jack, what’re you do – ” Rhys lets out an undignified squawk when Jack suddenly stands, picking him up like nothing more than a sack of potatoes.

The CEO grins as he walks around the desk and comes to a stop in front of the keypad. “Figured I’d make your job a little easier. I’m going to set you down now, kitten,” He warns, bending at the knees to drop Rhys’ legs down and he makes sure the young man has his footing before he releases him all the way. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

While Rhys stares at him with wide eyes and a slight flush, Jack snags the empty mug off his desk and hands it to the young man. “Day’s still young, kitten.”

Rhys takes the mug and lets out a little chuckle as he turns to face the keypad, shifting from foot to foot to test how he feels. In all honesty, he doesn’t feel _that_ bad, all considering.

As he types in the code and automatically starts to make his coffee, Rhys tries not to think about how _easily_ he could fall into the habit of letting Jack smoother him like that.

He was starting to wonder how Jack thought of him. Did he treat all his PA’s like this?

Or was he …

Shaking his head sternly, Rhys pushes those thoughts away.

He was just a personal assistant.

Nothing more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Jack would have his really cuddly moments. Being all alone and having people shake when they see you gets lonely for an old guy like Jack.  
> Good thing Rhys is secretly a cuddler.
> 
> Next chapter should get more eventful, haha.


	14. The Workout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited!  
> NSFW too, just a heads up.

Two days later, Rhys had thought that Jack had completely forgotten about Mister Clinton screaming at him. He hadn’t heard any news about anyone getting killed on Helios, or – not anyone killed by _Handsome Jack_.

The space station had its fair share of people who finally snapped and killed their roommates.

He gets into the habit of waking up a little earlier just so he has time to properly take a shower and get himself dressed up. Vaughn notices this and gives him a concerned, yet sly smile.

“Are you… dolling up for Jack?” The smaller man asks one day, his arms crossed over his bare chest and sleep shorts lopsided on his hips.

Rhys nervously laughs as he dabs his cologne onto his pulse point. “Hah, very funny Vaughn. I’m just getting ready like usual.”

“Like usual? You’ve been trying to fix your hair for the past ten minutes.” The financer deadpans while Rhys drops his hands from the top of his head.

 _Oh no_ , Rhys internally groans, _He’s right. I’m dolling up for Jack_.

Vaughn sighs and squeezes his way into the bathroom. “Relax, bro. You like awesome, per usual.”

Rhys sends him a thankful smile and nods, “You too, buddy.” Even though Vaughn’s hair is sticking up in odd places and his eyes are squinting without his glasses.

“Great.” Vaughn smirks and nods towards the door, “Now could I please have a few moments to relieve myself?”

“Oh – _oh_ ,” Rhys lets out a nervous laugh and backs out of the bathroom. “Sure, sorry. Hey,” He jerks a thumb behind him, “I’m going to head up to the office early. See you later.”

Vaughn nods before closing the door.

-:-

Jack went about his usual early morning routine. He had a bathroom put in his office for a reason, and a several spare clothes awaiting him there, although he always made sure to bring his favorite sweater down with him from his personal home.

Quietly, he walks out into his office and turns directly into the hallway. From there, he walks down into the lounge and the lights flicker on with his presence and movement. Stretching his arms above his head, he tugs off the sweater and tosses it on the nearby loveseat.

The lounge doubled as his own little gym, and on one side of the room sat several weights and a pull up bar. The rest of it was built with comfort in mind; a mini fridge was kept stocked with one of his favorite champagnes and even a few sodas. The dark cushions were accented with yellow throw pillows and each seat sat facing a large, curved screen mounted onto the wall.

He didn’t use the lounge area often, usually too busy with work to even consider popping the top off a soda and relaxing. But in the early mornings, he likes to try and break a sweat. It was easier taking a shower in his office than trying to run back up to his crib and then down in time to meet Rhys when the kid’s work shift started.

He stands in the lounge in nothing but a pair of sweats and his sneakers. With a shake of his head, Jack moves over to start the day off with a little weight lifting.

After all, if he wanted to keep lifting up his kitten like it was no big deal, then he was going to have to continue to work his arms.

-:-

Rhys took his time walking down the hallways towards the elevators. Only the technicians who kept Helios at full power were out an about at this time, and Rhys realizes that he’s up a good two hours early. He figures that his messing around in the bathroom woke Vaughn up, and gives a sympathetic wince for the sleepy man.

He felt like he had to keep moving. Mostly because sitting too long irritated the fading bruises on his ass. With a little chuckle, the PA remembers how he’d tried to watch a documentary with Vaughn and ended up laying down on his belly, despite his friend's obviously curious glances.

Sighing, he waits by the elevator and considers going back to his apartment. He’d never really been well over an hour early, and he doubted that Jack would even be there at the office.

Swallowing, Rhys steps into the elevator and thumbs the button while shifting nervously from foot to foot. He hoped that Jack wouldn’t be upset.

-:-

He’d already worked up a sweat by the time he heard the elevator clicking up the shaft. Narrowing his eyes, he pauses from where he was currently doing pull-ups to make sure he’d heard correctly. Sure enough, he hears the silent whirl of the elevator doors opening.

There’s the familiar sound of shoes in his empty office, and he drops down to the floor with a grunt as he makes his way out of the hall quietly.

As he peeks from out of the hallway, Jack smiles at the image of Rhys standing there in the middle of the office quietly. From here, he takes a moment to appreciate the younger man’s tall frame.

His shoulders gave way into a thin middle, and then branched off into two gorgeous and long legs. Jack idly tries to picture those legs thrown over his shoulders, and he lets out a little purr at the thought.

Rhys heaves a disappointed sigh and turns around, supposedly to head back down, and he nearly jumps out of his skin at the sight of Jack, shirtless, leaning casually in the hallway and looking at him like he was a piece of artwork to be admired.

“O-Oh, uhm – I’m sorry, I s-sh-hould get going - haha.” Rhys stutters out, his eyes wide as he tries to inch his way closer to the elevator. Jack shakes his head with a tutt.

“What’s the rush, kitten? Scared of little ol’ me?” The CEO waves a hand, motioning Rhys into the hallway. “Well, no use in having you run back and forth so early one. Come on, kiddo, I’m not done yet.”

Rhys watches as Jack turns his back on him and strolls down the hallway, the young man’s mouth slightly open and thoughts racing. What was Jack even doing in there?

The PA slowly follows, feeling both on alert and yet thoroughly pleased to see Jack shirtless. He is surprised to find the door to the lounge open and pauses by the doorway while watching Jack head back over to several weights.

Picking up two, large green ones, Jack tips his head when he notices Rhys just staring into the lounge like it was a deathtrap. “It’s okay, kitten. You can come in.” He assures while curling his arm to lift the weight to his shoulder.

Rhys carefully crosses the threshold of the lounge and stands there awkwardly until Jack sighs and nods towards one of the seats. “Sit on down, cupcake.”

The older man watches while Rhys carefully sits in one of the circular chairs. For a while, Rhys merely stares at Jack while he concentrates on lifting weights.

Rhys doesn’t know how much each one weighs, but he isn’t complaining. Jack works with his back slightly turned towards him, each arm steady and strong while they bend and stretch, his muscle pulled taut with the extra weight.

He never realized how _big_ Jack, and had always thought that the man was mainly made up of all those layers of clothes he always insisted on wearing. Jack’s got wide shoulders and thick arms, and his chest tapers off into a thinner waist with powerful legs.

After having spent so much time in the man’s lap, Rhys knows that he has to do some sort of leg lifts to get his thighs toned like that.

His skin is a pleasant tan, and only broken by the slight color difference in the mask. There are several, white scars strewn randomly across his arms and back, and Rhys wonders if he remembers what hurt him enough to cause a scar.

Rhys narrows his eyes as he takes in the man completely, even the little graying hairs on the man’s temple. Besides the large gray streak at the top of his head, Jack seems to have his natural, dark chocolate hair color.

His hair isn’t brushed into its usual curling sweep, and instead is more messy, most of it pushed back to avoid sticking to his face while he works up a sweat along his hairline. Jack’s strangely quiet while he works, only letting out even huffs to keep himself fueled and focused.

Rhys enviously hugs a yellow pillow to his chest, staring at the CEO so openly and trying to memorize every little detail. It takes all his effort to not scan the man in this state, he could just imagine what it’d say – but he could also imagine Jack’s quick wrath when he realizes that’d he’d been scanned.

Jack peeks from the corner of his eyes, clearly aware of the kid’s staring. He rather likes it, being the center of Rhys’ attention. He could get used to the younger man gaping at him with his mouth open and hands worrying the edge of a pillow.

The CEO finally sets down the weights into their rightful spot on the stand, and turns to flash Rhys a confidant smirk. “What’cha looking at, kitten?” He teases; enjoying the way Rhys quickly looks at the ground and goes red all the way up to the tips of his ears.

Smirking, Jack makes his way over to his embarrassed PA and braces his arms on either side of the chair, looming over Rhys like a predator about to devour its prey. “Come on, don’t be shy.” Jack taunts playfully, enjoying how Rhys squirmed in the chair and let out a huff.

Stubbornly, Rhys bites his lips and refuses to give Jack the satisfaction of answering, but he doesn’t stop himself from looking. Jack looks wonderful like that, body shinning with just the right amount of sweat and hair a mess – Rhys flushed when he realized that all Jack needed was a couple of well-placed hickies and somebody could’ve thought that the CEO had been laid.

In an effort to stop staring at the man’s smirking features, Rhys lowers his gaze and squeezes his lip a little tighter. _It just isn’t fair_ , he thinks as he takes in Jack’s toned features.

The older man wasn’t nearly as chiseled as Vaughn, but his tan chest and shaped features stand out even more thanks to his little workout. Rhys knows that if he reached out and touched at the man’s abdomen, there would be little give or squish. He’s almost tempted to touch Jack, to test to theory and feel the warm muscle underneath his palm, but Rhys keeps himself still.

“Ah, like what you see, kiddo?” Jack asks, and Rhys stiffens, knowing that he was caught shamelessly ogling the older man.

Swallowing, Rhys gives the barest hints of a nod, and Jack’s eyebrows rise in surprise. He hadn’t expected the kid to admit it; he was actually expecting Rhys to just pass out thanks to all the blood rushing to his face.

Humming, Jack takes a step back and gives Rhys a little more breathing room. “Can’t blame you, kiddo.” He says instead, voice full of smugness. The tone makes something stir inside Rhys, an angry little, frustrated part of him.

Jack’s just so full of himself –he has a right to be – and it’s just so freaking attractive to Rhys.

Sitting up more, Rhys carefully lifts himself up until he’s nose to nose with the surprised man. _Ballsy, kiddo. Just like I remember_ , Jack thinks, standing up straighter and letting Rhys do the same. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious to what the younger man was planning.

Sucking in a breath, Rhys narrows his eyes and takes a step towards Jack, right up against his chest and into his personal space. Jack takes a curious step back, now thoroughly intrigued to what Rhys was doing. Rhys doesn’t look like he wants to fight him, and Jack allows himself to be herded back a few steps until his knees hit the edge of another loveseat.

From there, Rhys suddenly reaches out and puts a shaking hand on Jack’s chest, letting out a low hiss through his teeth as he pushes Jack down, ever so slightly. The older man grabs at his wrist and watches while Rhys locks his mismatched gaze with his.

Letting out a breathy laugh, Jack sits down willingly and spreads his legs open wide out of habit. He was used to sitting like that, a power pose, and it was actually quite comfortable.

To his utter enjoyment, Rhys gracefully folds himself down on his knees, only hissing when his shoes touched his ass. He braces one hand on the dark material of Jack’s gym sweats, and uses his other hand to tease around the hem of the pants. Jack grins wide and wolf-like, finding himself somewhat turned on by the kid’s sudden eagerness.

“Go on,” He breaths, leaning back and getting comfy in the seat. Rhys swallows, and pauses for a short moment.

_What am I doing – oh god, am I really going to blow Jack?_

He tugs the waistband of the sweats down partially, expecting to find some sort of comfortable boxers, but instead is greeted to the sight of the wiry trail leading down to Jack’s dick. He gives another tug just to be sure, and finds the beginnings of Jack’s dick, bare and unrestrained in any boxers.

It was thick, Rhys could tell just that from getting a peak at the base, and Jack purrs proudly as Rhys tugs his pants down harder. The older man lifts his hips a little more to make it easier, and his length bounces free against his thigh shamelessly.

 _Yup._ Rhys thinks while biting his lip, _I’m going to do it._

“Well, kiddo, how’s that for you?” Jack rumbles with that grin still spread wide across his lips, and Rhys lets out a low breath before scooting closer. He rests one pale hand in the underside of Jack’s thigh and the other one slowly trails up from the man’s knee.

Rhys had done this a few times. He wasn’t born up on Helios, and instead had his wild, younger years down with a population of other horny adults. He’d learned a few tricks from the talented mouths of men and women alike.

Jack clenches his hands into the armrests as Rhys simply walks his fingers up over his knee and thigh while his mouth breaths teasingly against the man’s raising dick. He wanted Jack squirming before he even got it in his mouth.

A smirk tugs at his lips when he finally eases one finger against the side of the man’s dick, watching while Jack’s brow twitches with annoyance. He knew that the CEO had probably been spoiled by over eager people, but he was the man’s PA, and he’d learned how to deal with some growls and even a threat or two.

He was going to take his sweet time.

The finger teasingly follows the thick vein on the older man’s dick, tracing it back and forth, slowly trailing his way closer and closer to the man’s sensitive tip. Jack huffs out a breath and slowly his dick throbs in time with his heartbeat.

The kid looked so _pretty_ between his thighs; mismatched eyes focused on his dick intently and thin fingers dancing around his skin like it was a walk in the park.

He can’t help but to let out a pathetic little whine when Rhys finally closes his fist gently along the length, holding him steady and smiling when his dick bobbed and stood at attention. The tip was starting to flush red, and Rhys grinned happily at the sight.

He knows better than to stroke Jack right away and instead leans in close to open his mouth and gives the man’s tip a teasing flick with his tongue. Jack squeezes the chair tightly and forces himself to resist bucking up at the stimulation.

Rhys licks at the underside of his teeth, eying the base of the man’s dick curiously. _Christ,_ he wonders if he’ll even be able to fit the thing into his mouth. It was a struggle swallowing tiny pills with his wariness, the days after his surgery had been a nightmare for the nurses when they tried to take him off the IV.

Sighing, he gazes at Jack’s proud and big dick, and thought that it was fitting for a man of Jack’s stature.

It fills up his palm entirely, and Rhys lets out the littlest hints of a moan at the thought of Jack actually fucking him. Sure, he’d thought about it, but now that he was actually face to face with the man’s dick, it made his little fantasies seem so _small_.

He didn’t even have the time feel jealous.

He _really_ wanted Jack to fuck him senseless one day.

Jack’s little growl above him is enough to pull Rhys back into the moment.

 _Right, blowjob_.

Rhys drags his skilled tongue down the underside of Jack’s dick and gave him a good squeeze to keep him nice and ready. He spent his time licking all around Jack, taking the time to trace the large vein and tease the rim of his head with the tip of his tongue. By the time he deemed himself complete, Jack was panting above him and shifting in the seat, waiting.

“C’mon kiddo,” He breathed, closing his eyes for a moment as Rhys gave him a testing pump, and _holy shit,_ that felt great. Smiling at Jack’s expression, Rhys opened his mouth wide and popped himself down on the man’s tip, relishing the way Jack twisted and let loose and low moan.

He slowly let himself lap at Jack’s head, applying gentle suction at odd intervals to keep the CEO on his toes. Rhys lets out a greedy little purr when he finally tastes the first few drops of precum leaking from Jack’s slit, the vibrations rumbling up from his throat and rattling into the older man’s dick.

“ _Ah_ – Christ, _that’s it_ ,” Jack groans out, his sneakers digging into the ground in an effort to brace himself better. Rhys only scoots closer and eases himself down Jack’s length, keeping the top from ever touching the back of his throat.

Instead of taking it all the way, Rhys putts in extra effort humming and licking everywhere he could, while his hand stroked and squeezed. The jerky movements were aided thanks to his own spit and Jack’s arousal.

Rhys bobs his head and drags his tongue around the tip, letting out a long growl in his throat and enjoying the way Jack bucks up a little. He carefully pulls back whenever Jack moves like that, keeping his lips firm around the tip, but not allowing Jack to thrust fully inside his mouth.

Sucking firmly, he strokes Jack quicker, his fingers touching his lips every time he does so. He lifts his gaze up to catch Jack with his head tipped back, throat exposed and panting freely into the air. Rhys watches it all with a sense of pride blossoming in his chest.

He was the cause of that.

Mismatched eyes continue to watch as he tries his absolute best to push Jack over that final edge, and he lets out a pleased hiss when Jack suddenly fists a hand in his hair and just holds him down on his dick. Finally, Jack lets out a long snarl and looks down to see Rhys watching him intently. Gasping, Jack chokes out, “Good – oh, _yeah_ , good kitten, just… just like _that_.” He keeps his hand on Rhys head, stilling the kid’s movements while he gives a few bucks and slowly stills with a long exhale through his nose.

Rhys almost chokes as he bucks, but he squeezes Jack’s dick and his thigh as he feels the man begin to pulse in his mouth. He lets out a distressed squawk when the first few ropes hit the back of his throat, pushing his head back until Jack takes the hint and lets his hand drop to the side.

Instead of swallowing it all, Rhys gets most of Jack’s ejaculation all over his face. The PA keeps his hand on Jack’s dick, stroking out every drop greedily and not looking the least bit bothered by suddenly getting come all over his face.

Jack lets out a broken gasp and bites his lip as the last few drops are squeezed out of him before collapsing back into the chair bonelessly. He lets out a sensitive hiss when Rhys gives him one last squeeze for good measure, his dick now softening after release.

Huffing, Jack manages to open his eyes to take in the sight between his knees. The left side of Rhys’ face is covered in his mess, the white ropes strewn across his cheek and chin. One even managed to get caught in the kid’s eyebrow.

Jack pants out a laugh and hooks one finger under Rhys’ chin to pull him closer for an inspection. “Mhm… looks like we both need to get cleaned up, huh, kiddo?”

Rhys swallows and nods while pressing a palm to his own, neglected dick.

The CEO grins and rubs his thumb into Rhys’ pulse-point, “Easy there, kitten. We still have some work to do.”

Rhys lets out a quiet whine and rocks on his heels, his knees now sore and dick half hard. Jack lets him stand up before he eases his dick back into the safety of his sweats. He stands up with a long stretch and lifts his large arms above his head, watching while Rhys stretches himself out as well. “Hoo, boy. That felt _great_ , kiddo. I gotta take a shower after that one.” He pats his thigh and smirks at the way Rhys looks at him, a mixture of embarrassment and frustration shining in the kid’s eyes. “Come on; let’s get you cleaned up first.”

With that, he turns and makes his way out of the lounge, signaling Rhys to follow.

Rhys does so after a moment, breathing through his nose to calm himself down and clenching his hands into fists to avoid rubbing at his face just yet. He walks into the bathroom and stands by the granite countertop while Jack wets a yellow hand towel in the sink.

He stands still while the CEO turns to gently dab the damp towel on his face, wiping away the mess he’d made before patting Rhys on the cheek. “There you go, kitten. Clean as a whistle.” He tosses the dirtied town into a basket in the corner and lets Rhys wash his hands and rinse his mouth out, watching the entire time with a smug smirk plastered on his masked face.

Rhys looked a little red, and he jumped when Jack rested one big hand on his lower back to lead him out of the bathroom. “Help yourself to a soda, cupcake. I’ll be out in a bit.”

The PA turns to face him while he slowly closes the door, and Rhys sighs as he makes his way back into the lounge. He runs a hand through his hair before biting his lip and turning towards the refrigerator. He yanks it open none to gently, and peeks inside to find an interesting array of drinks. The colorful display temporarily makes him forget his own struggles while he tries to make a decision.

Eventually, he settles on an orange cream drink, struggling with the cap for a moment before he twists it off with a pressurized hiss. Falling back into a couch, he takes a sip and sighs happily at the sugary taste.

While he listens to the shower across the hall, Rhys presses the chilled bottle to his groin and does his best to will his dick down.

Like Jack said, they had work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RHYSIES FIRST BLOW JOB ON JACK! :)  
> Finally, right?
> 
> I can't believe THIS chapter ended up being one of the longest ones. I try to keep my updates roughly 1000~1500 words, but this one was a monster! 4000 words! 
> 
> I haven't written a blow job scene in forever, so I hope I did it justice!
> 
> Comments appreciated. :3 This chapter took me a long time to write. *wheeze*


	15. Tease Him Gently

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited.  
> WOW, over 1000 hits for this fic - I'm really flattered! :O  
> Thank you guys so much for the support, hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry if it's a little shorter than usual.

Jack spent most of his shower with his dick in his hand, sighing happily at the events that had taken place. Had he known that Rhys wanted to do _that_ , he would’ve let the kid into the lounge earlier. He seriously considered changing Rhys’ schedule to have the younger man up with him, bright and early every day.

Sighing, he forced his hands away from himself to instead focus on washing his hair. _Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Jack._

By the time he came out of the bathroom, a fresh button down on and a comfortable pair of jeans hanging from his hips, Rhys had left the lounge. Jack peeked into the empty area with a low hum of interest before taking the time to tug on his socks and then his sneakers. Smoothing a hand through his damp hair, Jack turned away and walked off into the office, pausing when he spotted the PA curled up in one of the chairs across from his desk.

“Tired already, kiddo?” Jack called as he made his way over, smirking when he found his coffee cup already full and waiting from him, the liquid still piping hot, just like he liked it.

Rhys lifted his gaze to him and shook his head before stretching his long legs out in front of him, texture-less soles sliding easily against the dark tile. Jack couldn’t help but to watch. The younger man’s body continued to captivate him, and he longed to just spread Rhys’ pretty little thighs and make him a moaning mess.

“Nope,” Rhys added at last once he was satisfied with his stretch. “Don’t forget you have that meeting with finance today first thing.”

Jack gave a low groan at the thought of doing so and collapsed into his chair, the leather letting out a soft sound of complaint before he swung both feet up on his desk. “Thanks for the tip, kitten. Why are you up here so early? I mean – believe me, I’m all for morning blow jobs, kiddo, but you’re…” He glanced at the time on the monitor after giving the keyboard a smack, “Roughly an hour ahead of time.” Jack glanced at him slyly and added curiously, “Special occasion?”

Rhys flushed lightly, the color a simple pink dusting on his pale and slender features. “I – uh… couldn’t sleep.” He started, voice faltering when Jack raised a thin brow.

“Ah, I see,” Jack’s grin was wide and dangerous, “Kept dreaming of me and wanted a taste of the _real thing_ , huh cupcake?”

The effect was instantaneous. The younger man’s face blossomed into a dizzying shade of scarlet, both his eyes wide and shocked. For about four seconds, the poor kid was speechless and Jack gave himself a mental pat on the back.

Finally, Rhys’ brain kicked into action and he shook his head furiously. “N- _No_ – I just – I’ve been trying to get up earlier s-so I wouldn’t be late again.”

Jack held up a hand as if to sooth Rhys and stops his frantic thoughts. “Sure thing, kiddo. I _believe_ you… so, this meeting,” He switched gears quickly and left Rhys with his mouth half agape and embarrassed, the words of his defense dying on his tongue while Jack leaned back, “I’m probably going to need you take notes. All those math nerds just talk and talk and _talk_ , you know?” He flapped his hand like a bird’s beak lazily. “Half of what they say I don’t really _care_ about, so just jot down a few notes, kitten. Think you can handle that?”

Rhys swallowed tightly and Jack watched the way his adams apple bobbed keenly, enjoying the thoughts about sinking his teeth right there and leaving bright bruises for everybody to see. He could picture Rhys with those flushed features tipped back, exposing his long, pale throat so wonderfully before he finally marked up the kid’s pale, smooth skin.

 _Focus,_ he told himself sternly while Rhys huffed out a breath and then nodded. “S-Sure, I can do that.”

“Wonderful, kiddo, knew you’d be up for it.” He picked up his mug and brought it too his lips, taking a long, warm gulp before he set it back on the coaster. “Oh, and kitten, anytime you feel like wrapping those pretty lips around my dick, just let me know.”

Rhys huffed and crossed his arms stubbornly while his face red again, biting his lip when Jack merely let out a rumble of laughter.

 _Oh, you'll know alright,_ Rhys grouched with the color slowly fading from his cheeks. He wondered how quickly he'd be able to work open Jack's usual belt and gun harness before deciding that it'd take some _practice_ before he was _really_ good at it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack, don't tease him like that, poor Rhysie can't handle it! >;3


	16. Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really unedited and written quickly.

It occurred to Rhys a little late that a meeting with finance could result in a very awkward encounter with his friend. Of course, Rhys had never intended to have Jack sit down right beside him, all spread out pompously with his knee pressed right up against Rhys’ thigh.

The financing district’s key players all sat around a large, rectangular table and tentatively told the CEO their current status. What districts were asking for additional funds and where they were with some operations across the board. A whole lot of money and a whole lot of people asking for it.

Vaughn sat in the middle of the table, looking pale and nervous, and Rhys guessed that it must’ve been his first big meeting. That might’ve also been why his roommate was up so early with him today.

Every so often their eyes would meet and Rhys would send him a little, comforting smile, while he scratched down notes in surprisingly clean handwriting.

Jack was leaned back in the chair with one arm pillowed beneath his head and the other flat against the table. Mismatched eyes surveyed everyone with boredom, and he would occasionally heave a sigh that would make everyone in the room hold their breath fearfully.

Rhys diligently noted everything that he thought was worth some of Jack’s time, taking neat, organized bullets of information and translating it as best he could from nerd-talk into something Jack would readily understand without getting irritated.

As the meeting drew to a close, Jack gave a long yawn and stretched his arms wide above his head before slinging one powerful limb over Rhys’ shoulder with a smack of his lips. Rhys hardly seemed to notice the invasion of his personal space, having spent so much time in that office with the touchy older man.

While the PA lifted his gaze to see who would speak next, he found that Vaughn was staring at him with his mouth slightly agape and eyes wide behind the thick, green frames. The smaller man stuttered when Jack tipped his side to the side, a low rumbling sound echoing close to Rhys’ ears from deep in the CEO’s chest.

Vaughn jumped into gear upon hearing the sound, squeaking his way through a report of his sector and trying to ignore the way Rhys was so at _ease_ about being touched by the masked murderer. He realized that being Jack’s PA meant that Rhys was used to being close to Jack – and had still somehow survived, but he didn’t realize it meant that they were on the grounds of touching one another.

It seemed like Rhys had gotten used to working with one of the most powerful men of their time.

Rhys merely blinked at his friend’s odd behavior and took no notice to Jack’s thumb gently rubbing behind his ear, completely at ease with his note taking and the CEO for the time being.

-:-

He never got the chance to say a proper ‘hello’ to Vaughn before Jack chased them all off with threats of bodily harm if they didn’t get things ship shape in no time. Rhys stood up slowly and stretched with a grunt, his body protesting after sitting so long in the meeting.

He blinked up the time and frowned, nearly an hour and half of nothing but sitting.

Jack looked well-adjusted to the circumstances and had shifted in his seat every so often to stave off joint soreness, while Rhys had really only concentrated on note taking. The CEO held out his hand once Rhys closed the portable echo-device, a small screen with a memory and a pen. It was an older model, but still served well for note-taking in the classroom or even fine arts.

“Well, kitten,” Jack started, shoving the device into his pocket, “Who was the guy with the glasses?”

Rhys paused from his efforts to move his body, and felt a wave of nervousness rise in his gut. Had Jack seen them exchanging smiles – had Vaughn said something distasteful and offended Jack?

“That… uh,” Rhys cleared his throat, “That was Vaughn.”

“Vaughn,” Jack repeats with a huff. “And how exactly do you know him?” The older man thought that he’d seen the nerdy man before somewhere… in a cubical or something, it didn’t really matter.

Rhys squeezed his hands at his sides to keep from fidgeting. “Roommate?” He ventured cautiously, watching while Jack only scowled.

Jack smirked as he watched the younger man shake and huff to himself, one hand sliding into his pocket to touch the device that Rhys had handed him. The kid was good. He hadn’t even paused when Jack snarled or threatened, and had only watched while the employees stuttered over themselves pathetically in response. In fact, he really only got defensive when Jack brought up the small, bespectacled man…

Jack wanted to know why.

“ _Just_ your roommate?” Jack pressed, eyes sharp and curious and lips thinned.

The young man flushed before him at question. _Is he really asking if Vaughn and I are… involved?_ It was almost funny, but Rhys got the feeling that Vaughn might just disappear if he said the wrong thing here.

Nodding vigorously, the younger man hissed, “Just my roommate. He’s like… my bro.” _Well,_ Rhys snickered to himself, _It wasn’t a lie._

He could’ve sworn he saw one of Jack’s eyes twitch at the wording. “Your… bro.” The older man looked to be _burned_ by even uttering the three letter word.

Rhys gave one last nod in silent answer, and Jack grumbled to himself while walking over to the doors.

 _Of course they're just friends._ Jack growled to himself, _My kitten could reel in somebody much better in the looks department. What the hell was I thinking? Getting all worked up over a tiny nerd._

The PA followed behind him and they walked down the hall side by side in quiet unison. “So, uh…” Rhys said at last, as they neared an elevator, “Why do you ask?”

Jack stiffened and grouched even more under his breath, waving him off with wordless cues while Rhys smirked.

Was Jack _jealous_?

They stepped into the elevator and Rhys couldn’t wipe the smile off his face at the thought. Jack _looked_ like the jealous type, with his looming and prideful manner. Surely he’d pout and stomp his feet if somebody he was interested in spent less time with him and more time with _someone_ _else_.

He frowned suddenly and shook his head at himself.

_Right. Just a PA. Not an interest._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really dislike this chapter?? :|  
> Anyways - next chapter should be better.
> 
> I'm tired and my sky is filled with smoke because of fires and bleh, air quality is horrific.


	17. Wanna Dance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited...

Fiona was halfway through choking a man with her boot when her Echocomm rang in her ear, letting out an irritated huff, she shifted the weapon in her hands and reached up to tap it on. “ _Phoenix_ , how may I help you?”

She’d gotten used to answering unknown calls with her dancing alias, and it had actually proven quite useful in a number of instances. She’d been ferried to and from Helios for some extravagant parties, and news traveled fast. If they wanted a show worth their money, they knew who to call.

“ _H-Hello? Miss Phoenix?_ ” The nervous voice on the other end of the static connection made her roll her eyes and press the toe of her shoe into the poor guy’s cheek. “ _I was wondering if you’d… if you’d be available for a friend’s party later this week? I can pay for a trip up and back._ ”

Fiona raised a scarred brow as she considered it. She was just wrapping up a con with Sasha, and they could use a little break. She’d love to have her sister meet the man who had somehow tamed Jack – considering Rhys was still alive.

“Later this week?” She questioned to herself, tipping her head and pale green eyes watched the man sputter and claw weakly at her boot. “Can I reach you at this number? I think this will work, but I need to check my schedule…”

“ _Of course, I understand how busy you are… look forward to hearing to you soon._ ” With that, she ended the call and gave the guy a swift kick in the jaw, watching while he rolled and let out a pained moan.

“Almost done, Sash?” She called, not sparing a glance over her shoulder. Athena had their backs, and had a bad habit of sneaking off with them for these springs under the guise of _deliveries_. She felt a little guilty that she was causing such tension between her and Janey, and wanted the grouchy woman to just tell her girlfriend that she was still doing dangerous things.

Her sister’s voice was triumphant as she answered, “Ready to go! Got it all loaded up.”

“Looks like we don’t need you anymore,” Fiona said, tsking while the man coughed up blood and tried to crawl away from her. “Guess you learned not to mess with pretty ladies, huh?” She planted on foot on his back and cocked her weapon. “Can’t have you going around and spoiling our fun, big guy.” The dancing con hissed while pointing the gun down and making his death quick.

-:-

Rhys was toying around on a tablet when his own Echocomm rang to life, and he paused his game while pawing at his bedside stand. It was late, and he couldn’t figure out who could be calling.

With a groan, he shoved the earpiece into place and tapped it on. “Hello?”

“ _Rhys! You’re alive._ ” Fiona’s surprise almost offended him, but Rhys merely unpaused his game to continue and try matching the irritating colors.

“I’m alive,” He said lamely, hissing when he found that he had no more matches and had to restart his game. “And so are you,” The young man noted offhandedly, wondering how she even managed to survive down on Pandora.

He’d never been down there, but he’d heard stories. Even Jack claimed it was a ‘shoot first ask questions later’ type of place.

The woman chuckled as she listened to him. “ _I’m not that easy to kill. Hey, I’m calling because I got an offer._ ”

“Offer?” Rhys questioned, holding the tablet above him as he tried to figure out a new color puzzle.

“ _For another show? One of the big-wigs up there gave me a ring. Said he wanted a dancer for his friend’s party or something… figured I’d invite you for the hell of it._ ” She paused for a breath while Rhys sat up a little more and paid attention. “ _I have some old outfits that’d fit you. Good for a newbie – but I need more closet space and less hassle, you know?_ ”

“U-Uh – wow, yeah. I don’t have any… uh, _show_ outfits…” Rhys admitted with a flustered clearing of his throat.

It’d been awhile since his last dance – and he actually hadn’t done a professional gig since he started working for Jack. He wasn’t exactly out of practice, as he was used to stretching every morning and testing out new angles in the mirror placed in his bedroom.

That had he still sashayed his hips – just a little – whenever Jack asked him to.

The man had yet to ask him for another performance like that they night they met and Rhys was surprised to say the least. And a little _disappointed_.

“ _Really?_ ” Fiona gave a low sound of thought, the humming echoing in his ears a little too loudly. “ _The guy offered to pay for our trip. I could come a little earlier and help you fit in them correctly? Your stupidly tall legs are going to make the outfits fit funny._ ”

Rhys faked an offended gasp. “You love these legs.” He wiggled his toes from where they hid under the light sheets.

Fiona chuckled warmly, and Rhys found himself smiling. He hated to admit it, but he kind of _missed_ her. She wasn’t quite a stranger, and he’d bonded to her oddly during their performances.

After a moment, she quietly said, “ _I should get going. It’s getting late… I’ll keep in touch. We’ll be there within this week –try and stay alive._ ”

“You know it.” Rhys exchanged his goodbyes before digging the commlink out of his ear and setting it aside. He reached for the tablet again and couldn’t help but to smile for a long while after their connection ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys didn't think that I forgot this all started with a dance, did you?  
> Don't worry, I have the dancing intertwined into a few points in the plot.


	18. Dress Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited :'0

Fiona decided to come up on Wednesday. Their dance was scheduled for Sunday evening, which Rhys thought was strange – why would somebody want to go to work with a ringing hangover was beyond him.

Rhys had warned them that his schedule was still really up in the air. He came at 0900, and left whenever Jack needed him too. Sometimes he’d be kept there all night, running on fumes, and Jack would oddly offer him a cup of coffee.

The PA knows that he _shouldn’t_ get butterflies in his stomach when Jack rubs his big hand at the back of his neck and husk, “You’re not looking so good, kiddo. Go grab a cup. We still have a lot of work to do, kitten.”

It was another one of those seemingly all-nighters when Rhys’ cracked a yawn and mumbled, “Jack?”

The man hardly looked up from his computer screen, eyes glued to the glowing monitor and fingers pausing over the keys. “Yes, kitten?” He asked patiently, most of his thoughts dedicated towards the mining operation. They’d found something – a cave whose readings were promising.

“This… this – uh – Sunday. I have things planned with a party.” Rhys knew that usually Jack didn’t bother him on the weekends, but sometimes, the CEO would give him a ring and proudly explain that he wanted him in the office ‘pronto’.

Jack raised a brow and lifted his eyes finally, settling his mismatched gaze on Rhys with a curious hum echoing up his throat. “Party?”

“Yeah…. A – uh, friend’s birthday party.” Rhys stuttered out, finding the CEO’s gaze to be strangely unnerving today.

“Alright, kiddo. Sure thing – don’t bother coming in Sunday then,” Jack waved a hand and added, “Going to busy anyways, kitten.” His eyes went back to the monitor and he grinned. “ _Real_ busy.”

Rhys swallowed thickly and nodded, his fingertips ghosting over a new file that exclaimed ‘ _PANDORA’S CAVES_ ’.

-:-

He didn’t get the chance to meet with Fiona until Thursday, and when he knocked on the door to her rented room, he was met by her fierce younger sister. Sasha snapped at him right away, “What – who are you? What do you want? No, she’s not taking autographs.”

Fiona was quick to jump in before the startled Rhys could even open his mouth. “Sasha – this is Rhys,” She stressed, watching the lithe man stare at them all blankly.

Sasha let out an irritated groan before holding the door open more. “C’mon in, long legs. Heard a _whole lot_ about you.”

Swallowing, Rhys tentatively steps into the large room. It was built to be quite open, with a little kitchenette and a dominating living room. The screen was currently showcasing some action movie, and Athena was sprawled out on the couch like a large panther, her eyes stalking his movements from underneath her hood.

Sasha disappeared into the kitchen, and Rhys could hear the familiar clinking of ice cubes in a glass. “I can’t believe you guys have this much water – we never waste ours in ice.” She said idly, neon green eyes focused on the glass as she rifled around in the fridge to find an appropriate drink.

Fiona met him by the door and closed it for him while giving him a decent once over. “Wow, he hasn’t even tore you apart, yet.”

The lithe Hyperion shrugged. “Nope. Not even a scratch.” The man grinned as he took in her appearance, laid back tee-shirt and a pair of above the knee shorts. Clearly lazy day attire.

“Well, good. Because let me tell you, scars are hard to pull off.” She braced one hand on her hip and then snickered. “Okay – okay, let’s get moving. I know you must be excited to play _dress up_.” The dancer gave him a teasing wink before hooking her hand around his wrist and dragging him down a short hallway.

“I-It’s not playing dress up.” Rhys defended as he followed, his mind already racing with what kind of outfits he’d get to mess with.

Fiona shushed him as she opened up the door to her room, shoving him inside before closing it. On the bed was a large, dusty old duffle. It had been patched up in several places and the edges of the zipper strap were fraying at the seams.

She hopped onto the plush bed before instructing, “Take your shoes off, shirt and pants – c’mon, not like I haven’t seen you the odd underwear before.” While Rhys huffed and slowly kicked his shoes off, she carefully peeled the zipper open, eyes taking in the various colors that shone through the darkness of the bag.

The dancer pulled out an older one, one of her favorites, and held it up in the air. It was a light blue, the color meant to fade as it got closer to the end of the fabric. The navy color at the top bleed into a pale sky-blue, and gave everyone a tantalizing peek of what the dancer had been wearing underneath. “This’ll look good on you,” She noted casually, smiling as Rhys’ mouth hung open a little.

It was a longer item, with sleeves and an open front design. It was meant to clip together in the front, right in the middle of the sternum, and then flow outwards behind the dancer. It gave a clear view of underwear in the front, while also skimpily covering ones ass. “You have the legs to pull it off. Not a lot of hips, but you shake ‘em well enough.” Fiona teased, beckoning the now, nearly nude, Hyperion over. “Just try it on. Used to be one of my favorites… it kind of matches your eye…”

Rhys carefully ran a palm up the sheer material, noticing how thin and wispy it was. It breathed in his hand like wind, and he could immediately tell the appeal of such an outfit. “A-Are you sure?” He asked, worried that he’d rip it or something.

“Positive. Now hurry up and slip it on,” She instructed, turning him around to help him shove his arms through the thin sleeves. The ends of the sleeves were built at an acute angle near the bottom, ensuring that the wearer could hook them through the middle finger and not have to worry about them riding up during a performance.

Grabbing at his hands, Fiona secured them into place, slipping the small opening over his middle finger and tutting with approval. From there, she reached around him to find the worn, little white clip, tugging the two sides over his chest before clipping them shut.

Rhys stepped back to get a feel for it, flushing at how open it made him in the front. He spun around despite himself, grinning subtly at the way the rear of the outfit flowed behind him before setting over his ass teasingly. “Oh,” He said, looking at his hands through the sheer fabric. “I _like_ this.”

Fiona was kneeling on the bed with cat-like grace, her eyes following his movement. It made the tattoos on his skin stand out, and the blue accented the large, blue wisps running up his arm, his side and down his leg. “See, I told you. Playing dress up is fun!”

She waved her hand at him before adding, “Take that off – we’ll make a keep pile.” Her ringed hand patted at the bed to her left, and Rhys slowly started to slide the material off after unclipping the front. “Just wait until you try on this one.” Her grin was near shark-like as she held up a dark skimpy outfit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's hard designing show outfits, okay?  
> I just... really like the idea of the blue one... might have to draw that at some point... >:3

**Author's Note:**

> *wheezes* I'm still new to all their characters - but I kind of want them to be playful until you scratch the surface and see the rage underneath.  
> Feedback greatly appreciated!  
> ALSO~ I'm on [Tumblr!](http://polargrizz47.tumblr.com/) Come check out my artwork and random blogging.


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